"Rider... hey..."
Despite Waver's anxious cries, Rider remained as steady as a mountain, surveying the surrounding Assassins with an unhurried, calm gaze.
"Hey, kid, don't be so tense. Generosity and magnanimity in hosting banquet guests are also a test of a king's bearing."
"Do you think they look like guests coming to a banquet?"
Rider gave a wry smile, sighed at the panicked Waver, and then called out to the surrounding Assassins in a gentle, unhurried tone:
"Everyone, could you rein it in a bit and stop releasing such dangerous auras so casually? As you can see, my companions are quite frightened."
Rider's words left Saber in doubt, as if her own ears were deceiving her, and even Gilgamesh couldn't help frowning.
"Do you intend to invite those people to the drinking party as well, Conqueror King?"
"Of course, a king's words are meant for all common folk. If someone comes specifically to listen, then friend and foe are not distinguished."
Rider finished with absolute composure, then looked at the surrounding Assassins.
Unexpectedly, with a whoosh, a dagger flew straight toward the Conqueror King...
Rider easily caught the dagger, but his expression remained completely calm, without the slightest change.
"In that case, if you are looking for death, I suppose it cannot be helped...!"
The air around Rider grew intensely hot. He stood at the center of a swirling hot wind, a crimson cloak fluttering on his shoulders in the gale. Before anyone noticed, the Conqueror King's attire had transformed into his original battle armor.
"Saber, Archer, let me show you the true form of a king!"
A fanatical hurricane gradually transformed the surrounding environment into a completely different reality.
"How is that possible?!"
Waver stared in shock as the landscape changed. Wasn't this the legendary Reality Marble?
He had thought he would never witness one in his lifetime, yet today he was actually seeing this miraculous extreme magecraft.
Of course, had he known that in the future a high schooler would solo the King of Heroes using a Reality Marble, Waver would have been even more astonished.
The scorching sun beat down on the earth, the field of vision stretching endlessly to a horizon shrouded in howling wind and dust, beneath a distant, cloudless blue sky.
"How could this happen... To actually turn a world of the heart into reality... You aren't even a magus."
"Of course not. This is not something I could accomplish alone."
At the center of the vast bounded field, Iskandar stood tall, his face radiating a proud smile as he firmly refuted Waver's doubt.
"This is the land where my army once galloped, bearing the scenery forever engraved in the hearts of the warriors who shared my joys and sorrows."
As Rider finished speaking, one after another, the figures of warriors materialized behind him, and even as time passed, their numbers continued to multiply exponentially.
"The reason this world and the scene before our eyes are able to manifest is precisely because they are the embodiment of our shared soul."
Though their ethnicities and equipment varied, every single one of them possessed a robust physique. Their gleaming armor radiated an extraordinary aura, casting a brilliant glow upon one another—both magnificent and overflowing with power.
"Behold! This is my peerless army!"
At that moment, the Conqueror King raised both arms high, proudly and loudly praising this vast and mighty cavalry force.
"These are legendary warriors who have lost their physical bodies, yet whose souls are known to the world as 'Heroic Spirits,' and they still remain loyal to me. Responding to my summons, they crossed time and space to become my eternal comrades-in-arms. The bonds I share with them are my most precious treasure! This is the symbol of my royal way! This is the Noble Phantasm of which I, Iskandar, am most proud—Army of the King!"
Mounting his legendary steed, Bucephalus, the Conqueror King issued his command:
"A king is not isolated from the world, for his great enterprise is the embodiment of the shared aspirations of all his subjects!"
"Now then, let the battle begin, Assassin!"
Rider offered a cold smile, his gaze flashing with ruthlessness and cruelty.
Toward those who had interrupted a king's speech and rejected a king's hospitality, he clearly felt not a shred of sympathy.
The Assassins were utterly terrified by the Conqueror King's army, running about in every direction like headless flies.
"Trample them ruthlessly!"
Rider's command echoed through the surroundings, cold and resolute.
"AAAALaLaLaLaLa!"
A deafening battle cry rose in response. The roars of the invincible legion that once rampaged across eastern and western Asia echoed once more across the battlefield.
For the Assassins, this was nothing short of a one-sided slaughter.
Facing this invincible army, they were utterly incapable of offering any resistance.
In mere minutes, the band of Assassins was wiped out, leaving behind nothing on the battlefield but blood-tainted dust and yellow sand.
"Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!"
Cheers of victory shook the heavens. Having fulfilled their mission, the Heroic Spirits offered their glorious victory to their king, praised his greatness, and once more dissolved into souls, vanishing to the ends of time and space.
As the Heroic Spirits faded away, the Reality Marble, which relied on their magical energy to be sustained, collapsed as well.
Everything felt like a dream—mysterious and fleeting.
"A truly disappointing ending."
Rider muttered casually to himself.
Saber remained silent, while Archer merely grew displeased, letting out a cold snort.
"So that's how it is. Surrounded by a mob of common rabble, you think you're grand just because you can command a crowd, imagining yourself a king—Rider, you are thoroughly obnoxious."
"Say whatever you like; sooner or later, I will face you in combat myself."
Rider stood up easily, turning to the side and saying to Waver,
"Kid, it's time to go."
"..."
"Eh? Kid, what's wrong with you..."
Ever since witnessing Rider's immense power, Waver had been completely absent-minded. Naturally, he was simply too shocked to realize until now just how powerful the Heroic Spirit he had summoned truly was.
After waiting for Waver to shakily climb aboard the chariot, Rider turned back to speak frankly to Saber and Gilgamesh:
"It has been an honor to discuss the royal way with you today. Everyone, until next time—when the decisive battle arrives, we shall settle who is superior!"
With that, Rider drove his chariot away amidst a rumble of thunder.
"Mongrel, our next meeting will be the final battle. Cherish the time you have left to live..."
Dropping those words, Gilgamesh flashed into golden light and slipped away.