Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

With a muffled explosion, the Knight King, caught off guard and hastily raising his longsword in mid-air, was sent flying backward like a cannonball, a spurt of blood gushing from his mouth amidst the violent shock.

"Saber!"

Seeing her companion, with whom she spent every day, being forced back by the lightning, almost to the point of no return, her tattered armor crumbling and about to be swallowed by the intense lightning, the silver-haired beauty, thrown away, cried out in alarm.

"when!"

At the critical moment, a silver-white meteor fell from outside the bamboo forest and collided directly with the purple-red lightning that was rushing forward. The intense metallic vibration immediately generated terrifying sound waves that swept out to both sides.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

In an instant, it was as if tons of high explosives buried around were ignited, the nearby bamboo forest turned to dust, the road surface was torn up layer by layer, and the entire pool of water splashed up several feet high.

"Om..."

As the dust settled, the unstoppable bolt of lightning was abruptly stopped by a silver lance, its brilliance fading away with a mournful cry.

It's alright, it's good that you're alright...

At this moment, realizing that her servant was safe and sound under the lightning, the silver-haired beauty, whose mood had been fluctuating like a roller coaster, breathed a sigh of relief and showed a happy expression.

"Wow!"

However, just as the silver-haired beauty relaxed her guard, she suddenly felt a tightness around her waist. Looking down, she saw a golden chain with a silver cone tip, which had somehow coiled around her waist like a snake.

"Leave it here!"

A deep, furious roar suddenly erupted, and the surrounding ether formed a fierce storm, while a silver streak of light, compressed to its extreme, shot forward through the air.

“MjOlnir!”

But the moment the newcomer made his move, a ferocious roar echoed through the bamboo forest.

"Boom boom boom!"

With the release of the true name, dozens of lightning pillars struck down, continuously bombarding the uninvited guest, bringing apocalyptic destruction to the surroundings. The vast annihilation power transformed into a divine storm that annihilated everything.

—A thunderous storm!

"Your opponent is me! Did I give you permission to move?"

Amidst the fierce lightning, a red-haired, violent loli dressed in rough Viking attire grinned maliciously, her eyes full of mockery.

"Holy Lance, pull anchor..."

But with a deep chant, the thunderous storm that pierced through heaven and earth was torn apart by a beam of silvery-white, blazing light.

"Om..."

Amidst the muffled wailing, the clouds in the sky dispersed, and the gathered lightning coalesced into a heavy, black object, which fell not far away.

Odin's Horn... Thor's hammer... It really is her...

Beatrice Florchard, the enemy berserker, the Dolls unit of the Ainsworth family. I never expected to run into her again so soon.

As the lingering smoke dissipated, in the silent murmur, the fingers that had been resting on Artoria's shoulder lowered, and a pair of vertical pupils, opening and closing, swept over the side of the giant stone hammer, where the petal-shaped sacred runes formed by the intersection of three beast horns were visible, before looking at the red-haired, violent loli dressed in Viking attire on the opposite open ground, and a chill ran through her heart.

In addition, there is...

Then, the ancient serpent slowly raised its head and looked down into the bamboo forest that had been almost completely flattened. There stood a tall, blonde girl wearing golden armor, with red divine patterns engraved on her skin, holding the other end of a chain in her hand, her brows furrowed.

Angelica Ainsworth, another "Hero Queen".

“Samael…!”

When Irisviel saw that familiar figure, she was overjoyed and instinctively wanted to rush forward to reunite with her old friend.

However, before the silver-haired beauty could take a few steps, her waist tightened.

"Wow..."

Immediately afterwards, the chains trembled, and Irisviel, like captured prey, flew backward into the bamboo forest, landing lightly on the shoulder of the tall figure in golden armor.

"Your Highness, if you don't want anyone to get hurt, please come back with us obediently."

Angelica hoisted Irisviel, who was tightly bound like a dumpling, onto her back like a sack of potatoes, patiently offered advice, and then turned to leave.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

But the instant Angelica took her first step, two golden arrows pierced the air and sank beneath the feet of this hero-king.

The blonde girl stopped and turned to look at the figure standing in the distance with a bow in her hand. A hint of apprehension flashed in her eyes, and she frowned slightly. Then, as if she had thought of something, her brows relaxed, and she spoke softly.

“We have no ill intentions on this trip. We are simply reclaiming what is rightfully ours from the Ainsworth family, as agreed. You should not stop us.”

As she spoke, Angelica pulled a letter from the spatial vortex and tossed it to Samael.

Artoria snatched the falling letter first, pulled out the pages and read them. As she read the words and read the signature at the end, disbelief gradually appeared on the Knight King's face.

"Impossible! Ahad would never have given Ellie to you! It's a forgery! This must be a forgery!"

"Even if the contents of the letter can be forged, the crest of a magical family has always had anti-counterfeiting measures. If you don't believe me, you can input magic power yourself to test its authenticity."

Angelica spoke calmly, her expression resolute.

"No need to test it, it's real..."

However, before Artoria could even make a move with some skepticism, Irisviel, who was perched on Angelica's shoulder, glanced at the letter and nodded with a wry smile, confirming its authenticity.

"Why is this happening?! The Holy Grail War isn't over yet, why would the Einzbern family give Iris to you?! This is impossible!"

"Because this is her mission..."

Angelica remained unmoved and answered mechanically.

"To achieve the salvation of humanity at their own expense—that is the meaning of the Einzbern family's homunculi being created. And now, the Ainsworth family is assisting her in fulfilling her mission. If you truly care about your Master, you shouldn't stop her."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Artoria looked bewildered.

"Saving humanity? Since the goal is the same, why shouldn't it be your Ainsworth family that follows orders?"

Samael shook his head and sneered, his gaze mocking, unmoved by this high-sounding rhetoric.

Based on the available intelligence, both the Ainsworth family and the Einzbern family were likely playthings of Pandora.

To achieve salvation for humanity?

When did that woman become so kind? She is the primordial calamity.

"Leave the people here, and I'll let you go; otherwise..."

Samael slowly drew back the bowstring again, pondered for a moment, and then his cold gaze suddenly flashed with a chilling killing intent.

"...You will all die!"

"Arrogant! Don't think you can..."

The hot-tempered Beatrice was about to pick up Thor's hammer and fight the man in front of her, but she was stopped by Angelina from behind.

"Saber of the enemy, now, we are about to fulfill the millennia-old wish of the Einzbern and Ainsworth families. If you still remember your oath, then as a knight, uphold your duty..."

Meanwhile, the blonde girl's eyes flickered slightly. Although she was displeased, she still spoke mechanically, faithfully repeating the words she had been taught before her departure. Her empty eyes quietly fell on Samael, and her voice instantly turned cold.

"...Then, let no one disturb Her Highness as she completes her mission."

Artoria stared at the sword in her hand, then looked up at Angelica, who was leading Irisviel forward. Her cherry lips were tightly pressed together, and her mind was in complete chaos.

"Wrong answer!"

This familiar rhetoric, along with its blatantly provocative and wicked humor, instantly allowed Samael to glimpse the figure of the woman of calamity through the mist. He gripped the holy spear loosely in his hand, strode forward, and his eyes were filled with a sinister light.

"Stop him."

"Shut up!"

In the instant that Samael and Artoria passed each other, the crimson and black holy sword swept forward.

"boom!"

However, the crimson and black sword light swept diagonally across Samael's side, shattering dozens of shadow followers emerging from the swamp and clearing the way for the ancient serpent.

Samael brandished his holy spear, deflecting dozens of projectiles of swords, spears, and halberds, and glared at Artoria behind him.

"I thought you were going to cut me up too..."

"I have that idea, but I need to rescue Alice first before I can bother you."

Artoria snorted and retorted, clearly still harboring resentment over the fact that she was King Arthur's nemesis.

"Saber, will you break your vow?"

Angelica, standing ahead, calmly looked at Artoria, who had rushed in with Samael's help, and asked her a question in a low voice, making her final provocation according to the "procedure".

"If you can't even protect your Master, what kind of chivalry are you talking about!"

Artoria gave a cold smile, which was followed by a look of disdain on her face.

"Besides, what do I care about this bullshit human relief? The Einzbern family abandoned her, but I didn't! Only Alice can decide what she wants to do!"

Amidst the mockery, the Knight King reversed the hilt of his sword, and a stream of red and black light, like molten iron, surged forward.

Wherever it passed, dozens of shadow followers collapsed and shattered, instantly dissolving into nothingness.

Angelica frowned slightly upon seeing this, then picked up a card between her fingers and threw it forward, causing ripples to spread across the surrounding space.

Then, the blonde girl gave the order in a deep voice, hoisted Irisviel onto her shoulder, and strode forward.

“Belle Trish, stop them.”

The other party is trying to escape!

Samael and Artoria exchanged a glance and instantly understood the enemy's intentions.

"Pretender!"

At this moment, the Knight King gripped his longsword tightly with both hands, shattering several mud spirits that emerged along the way. He pressed down with his knees, gathering momentum for a forward strike, the surging magic around him forming a spiraling column of wind.

At the same time, the ancient serpent understood immediately, leaping forward and landing precisely on the horizontally placed sword blade with its toes.

"Strike Air!"

Immediately following, with Artoria's roar, a powerful gust of wind surged forth, and Samael, as if riding a rocket, streaked through the air at lightning speed.

"Don't be so smug!"

Seeing that the enemy, who was a hundred meters away, arrived unexpectedly in an instant thanks to the tacit cooperation of the two, Beatrice was furious and immediately raised Thor's hammer high to summon lightning.

Boom boom boom!

In an instant, several pillars of lightning, each as thick as a water bucket, snaked down from the dark, cloud-covered sky.

In an instant, lightning flashed like a waterfall, and electricity surged like a torrent.

So fast!

Golden light surged around Samael, and the Sagittarius Cloth appeared on his body. While withstanding the continuous lightning strikes, he vibrated the golden wings that had taken shape, accelerating once again, like a nimble fish swimming upstream in raging waves.

"Don't think about it!"

Seeing the bolts of lightning miss their mark one after another, Bi'er Cuisi gritted her teeth and slammed the Thunder God's Hammer into the ground.

In an instant, the lightning bolts that were originally falling vertically suddenly froze in mid-air, and then, like venomous pythons, turned back upwards and attacked again.

The ancient serpent darted left and right, constantly changing speed and direction, attempting to shake off the surrounding lightning.

However, this thing seemed to have been given a life of its own, relentlessly pursuing and biting Samael.

Holy crap! Automatic guidance?!

In a flash, accompanied by a seemingly sealed-off lightning bolt, the light drew ever closer, and Samael, trapped in the center, was instantly engulfed in a fierce arc of light.

"Huh? You lost to this guy? He's nothing special..."

Having landed a successful blow, Beatrice rolled her eyes triumphantly at Angelica beside her, a hint of disdain on her face.

However, Angelica ignored her teammates' taunts, her eyes fixed on the arcs of lightning darting through the air.

"Tch, you're so weak. How about I take the captain's position, and you can just listen to my instructions from now on..."

Just as the petite loli was thinking about taking the lead, the lightning that had been contracting in front of her suddenly shot out in the opposite direction like boiling hot oil.

Still trying to resist!

Seeing this, Beatrice sneered and immediately grabbed Thor's hammer, preparing to crush the ant trapped in the lightning cage.

creak...