Fuyuki City, an unnamed warehouse district.
Shichen and his party walked openly down a roadway.
The enemies no longer hid, revealing their true forms.
A slender figure stood firm in the center of the avenue. Despite his unique attire, the powerful magical energy radiating from his entire body unmistakably marked the man before them as an extraordinary presence.
Saber signaled with her eyes for Shichen not to interfere in this battle; she intended to have a fair and just, true man-to-man one-on-one duel.
Shichen nodded, acknowledging Saber's request.
Saber no longer held back and charged at the enemy...
Shortly after,
after trading a few blows with the enemy, Saber quickly confirmed that he was indeed Lancer. However, during the combat, her left wrist was wounded and cursed, causing the situation to deteriorate rapidly.
At the same time, she learned the opponent's true identity: he was none other than Diarmuid ua Duibhne, the finest warrior of the Fianna.
Of course, Shichen already knew this, though he was more accustomed to calling him "Spearbro," having called him that in his past life anyway.
Regarding the fate of Spearbro, otherwise known as Lancer, Shichen felt a sense of pity. It was a testament to that famous saying: generation after generation, Lancers are gods, and generation after generation, Lancers back the wrong master.
Now then,
it was time for the Conqueror King to make his grand entrance!
Thunder rumbled across the sky, one peal rolling after another.
Saber and Lancer both looked up simultaneously. A purple chariot descended swiftly in an instant, finally landing right between Saber and Lancer.
"Lower your weapons, both of you! Right now, you stand before a King!"
"I am the Conqueror Iskandar. Having claimed the seat of Rider in this Holy Grail War, I have descended into this world."
The Conqueror King, is it? Watching such a bold and uninhibited Iskandar, Shichen felt a measure of respect. Perhaps only a true king could carry himself in such a manner.
When Iskandar put forward his preposterous demand—that everyone surrender the Holy Grail to him and pledge their allegiance—he predictably met with unanimous rejection from everyone present.
Then, Iskandar burst into loud laughter, raised his voice, and shouted into the empty night sky:
"Hey! There are others hiding in the darkness and peeping, aren't there?"
"How disgraceful, how utterly disgraceful! You heroes gathered in Fuyuki, having witnessed the heroic valor displayed by Saber and Lancer, are you still content to merely watch from the shadows...? If you just hide and watch, you are nothing more than cowards! How can you possibly call yourselves Heroic Spirits!?"
"Now! All Heroic Spirits chosen by the Holy Grail shall gather here. If any coward still lacks the courage to show himself, he shall face the contempt of the Conqueror King Iskandar!"
Shichen's composure instantly cracked. It seemed he was about to face that streetlight king—the delinquent Gilgamesh—once again.
Sure enough, following Iskandar's roar, a golden flash cut through the air, and that man stood atop his favorite streetlight, looking down at Iskandar with utter disdain as he replied:
"To think that two shameless wretches would pop up overnight, turning a blind eye to my existence while presuming to call themselves kings."
As Gilgamesh looked down with contempt at the people beneath the streetlight, his gaze suddenly landed on Shichen, who was looking pitiful and innocent in the shadows. He grew extremely displeased:
"Hey, mongrel! Don't think that just because you're hiding in the dark, this King can't see you. I already told you, next time we meet will be your execution day!"
Oh crap, I'm done for. How on earth did this guy spot me? Wait, I remember all Archers have Clairvoyance, right? Oh dear lord, I am in serious trouble now.
Shichen stepped out helplessly and said to Gilgamesh with an earnest expression:
"Look, Gilgamesh—ah, no. Respected King of Uruk, I didn't mean to offend you earlier. Is it still too late for me to repent?"
Without wasting words, Gilgamesh immediately unleashed a barrage of Noble Phantasms straight at Shichen.
"Ow! Young man, where is your martial honor? This is going way too far!" Shichen complained while desperately trying to parry the incoming Noble Phantasms.
Iskandar also noticed Shichen's appearance at that moment and muttered with amused interest:
"So this is the Caster. To attract the attention of that King, what a remarkable young man."
Lancer also noticed the beleaguered Caster struggling against Gilgamesh's assault, and asked Saber beside him:
"Yo, is that one of yours?"
"No, I don't know him." Saber felt utterly mortified by Shichen's outburst, so she could only pretend she had no idea who he was.
On the other side, while Shichen was in the thick of battle, a figure dressed in black suddenly burst out from beside him.
He instantly recognized this person as Berserker, Lancelot, of this Holy Grail War.
Everyone was filled with curiosity about the sudden appearance of the man in black.
Because he was completely different from other Servants, the black armor he wore was enveloped in a wave of "negative energy," making him feel more like an aggrieved ghost than a Servant.
"...Hey, Conqueror King. Why aren't you inviting him to join you?"
Lancer didn't dare lower his guard for even a second, his eyes locked onto the black knight, yet his tone remained completely lighthearted as he bantered with Rider.
"Even if I wanted to invite him, that fellow looks like he never had any intention of talking from the very beginning."
The situation was shifting constantly. Saber, Caster, Berserker, Lancer, Archer, Rider, and Assassin watching from the sidelines—all seven Servants had now appeared.
A grand melee was imminent, meaning that any lapse in judgment right now could lead to immediate annihilation under the worst-case scenario.
Everyone understood that this was not the time for fighting, but rather a moment to bide their time and wait for developments.
Shichen, on the other hand, felt quite relaxed inside. As a transmigrator, he obviously knew that Berserker was going to target the streetlight king Gilgamesh, so all he had to do was sit back and watch Gilgamesh get taken down a peg.
At that thought, Shichen wore an uncharitable smile. Finally, Gilgamesh was going to suffer a setback—Heaven truly was helping him!
Just as Shichen was daydreaming, Berserker suddenly launched an attack directly at him.
"Huh? What is going on? Th—this isn't right, is it?" Shichen was utterly shocked.
Damn it, I've turned into the clown myself.
With no other options and nowhere to run, Shichen realized he had no choice but to face the attack head-on.
With a sharp *crack*, Berserker casually ripped a streetlight right out of the ground, transforming it into his weapon as he unleashed a ferocious assault upon Shichen.