"!!!"
Everyone jumped in surprise as Feend suddenly leaped to his feet. As a First-Class Lecturer at the Clock Tower, Feend had always projected an image of calm composure. Even the Yggdmillennia Masters had initially identified him as their most dangerous target—and rightly so. The Lancer he summoned, Karna, was truly a top-tier Servant, his only flaw being his high mana consumption.
This outburst was so out of character that everyone was momentarily stunned.
"My apologies," Feend said, realizing his behavior was inappropriate, though the excitement on his face hadn't faded. "But if you were in my shoes, you'd react the same way."
"Stop keeping us in suspense," someone urged.
Feend's attitude piqued everyone's curiosity. Given his status, few things could provoke such a strong reaction.
"Because this," Feend declared, pointing to a seal on the envelope, "is a letter personally written by the Wizard Marshal!"
The seal was a unique mark used only by Kaleidoscope. Besides being nearly impossible to replicate, no one in the Magecraft World dared to impersonate him.
"So that's why it arrived so quickly."
The other Magi nodded in understanding. "It seems the Lord Marshal of Magecraft is also concerned about the world's survival. In that case, even the Beast is no longer a major concern."
Everyone's expressions relaxed considerably, except for Amakusa and Darnic. In truth, the pressure from the Beast was immense. Before the battle had even officially begun, they had already lost six Servants (not counting the missing Assassin). Even with their combined forces and a fortress-type Noble Phantasm, they still felt uncertain.
However, Feend's radiant expression quickly dimmed. A collective sense of dread washed over the room. The letter's contents were clearly not good news.
"What does it say?" Gordes asked impatiently. They already had enough problems to deal with.
Feend opened his mouth, his voice laced with disbelief. "It says... the Wizard Marshal thinks..."
He paused, struggling to find the words.
"...that we're just making trouble for ourselves... and we should focus on tidying up our appearances so we can at least die looking presentable."
"..."
"..."
After a moment of silence, Sisigou extinguished the cigarette in his mouth.
"Is it possible this letter wasn't written by the Wizard Marshal? Someone of his stature wouldn't likely speak in such a tone."
"That's certainly possible," Feend replied, "but this mark can't be faked."
Feend held deep respect for Kaleidoscope and couldn't imagine him addressing juniors like them in such a manner.
"It's just a mark," Darnic sneered. "Magi fear Kaleidoscope's power and wouldn't dare misuse it, but Servants are a different story—let alone a Beast, an Enemy of Humanity!"
This outcome suited Darnic perfectly. The Clock Tower's incompetence would give him the perfect justification to establish a new Mages' Association. As for whether he could win... he was certain he would. After all, if he lost, there would be nothing left to consider.
"Have you all forgotten the intelligence Caules risked his life to bring back? Beast is suspected of having mind-control abilities. Your familiar might have been controlled by her."
"If that's the case, we can narrow down the list of potential Beast candidates. Does your Black Faction have any—"
"Of course..."
Fiore, seated in her wheelchair, took a deep breath. "No, we don't. There are plenty of legends involving abilities similar to mind control. For instance, Servants related to foxes, like Tamamo-no-Mae, often possess such Authorities. We don't know the specific conditions for a Servant to manifest as a Beast, so it's impossible to confirm anything."
"Tamamo-no-Mae doesn't have horns, though..." Jinram muttered as he sorted through Shakespeare's belongings. The Caster hadn't been a traditional Magus, leaving behind mostly manuscripts. At best, they could serve as enhancement items, but they still held considerable research value for Magi.
"Beast's massive horns don't seem like something from a real-world creature."
"There might be a Demonic Dragon concept involved," Amakusa mused, recalling Beast's appearance. Her horns, almost larger than her body, were impossible to ignore.
"In that case," Semiramis said, glancing at Siegfried, "the Black Faction's Saber is perfectly suited to demonstrate his strength."
Siegfried was a dragon-slaying specialist, capable of taking on even the most powerful Demonic Dragons.
Gordes's expression soured. He hadn't even wanted to tell his own allies his Servant's True Name, yet the Red Faction's Assassin had revealed it with a single sentence. In a normal Holy Grail War, he would have been as good as eliminated. But now wasn't the time to lose his temper; everyone shared the same goal.
"If that's the case, leave the frontline combat to me," Siegfried said with a nod. He would never refuse a request to save the world, especially since he possessed a Special Attack against dragons.
"Very well. I'll familiarize you all with the defensive functions of the Hanging Gardens," Amakusa announced. "Prepare yourselves. Beast could attack at any moment." He had Semiramis release pigeons to act as sentinels. "Beast is close. An attack could come at any time."
"You don't need to remind us," Darnic snorted, but he followed Amakusa's lead.
While the Red and Black Factions frantically prepared for battle, Jiang You had gone into the city to find a prostitute.
"Wait, what are we doing here?" Jalter demanded, her face a mask of disbelief when Jiang You stated his purpose. Is this guy some kind of lust-crazed oni? Can't this wait until after we've dealt with everything? "Are you some kind of monkey in heat?"
Jeanne remained calm. Although she didn't know how this Worldline would unfold, she knew Jiang You wasn't exactly lacking women he could sleep with. He had no need to resort to this.
Melusine hesitated, torn between asking "Can I come too?" and staying silent. She reached for Jiang You's sleeve several times, only to pull back. Sharing him with a lesser species just feels... wrong.
"Mommy disapproves," Tiamat declared firmly. "Any partner for this sort of thing must be vetted by Mommy first. You can't be so careless."
"Just let me finish," Jiang You said, exasperated that no one would let him get a word in.
"I'm here to find the Black Faction's Assassin. That Master-Servant pair is... special. The Master can't continuously supply the magical power the Servant needs, so they have to constantly hunt Magi and steal their hearts to keep the Servant active. This Holy Grail War has already gone off the rails. I have to inform them, no matter what. While most of the Magi they've killed probably had it coming, we're here to wrap things up. What needs to stop, will stop."
"Besides," he added, turning to Tiamat, "this Servant's situation is extremely unique. Tiamat, you can perfectly fulfill her wish."