The battle seemed to have come to an end. Even within Iskandar's Reality Marble, none of them had been able to put much pressure on Alaric, only facing an overwhelming barrage of firepower. Even Artoria, the King of Knights, understood that Alaric was simply unbeatable at this moment—not due to a difference in skill or strength, but because of an absolute superiority in firepower.
It was practically the same relentless bombardment as that Archer's fighting style.
Not only Artoria but even Diarmuid Ua Duibhne had no choice but to stop fighting.
With the power boost Alaric had gained from Little Red Riding Hood, his combat ability had skyrocketed. Diarmuid, who was already unable to pose a threat to Alaric, was even more aware of the gap between them.
Moreover, if Alaric disregarded the safety of ordinary citizens and unleashed the firepower that had destroyed the Reality Marble in Fuyuki City, his Master, Kayneth, would also struggle to escape unscathed.
Considering all these factors, Diarmuid had to stop, his expression heavy as he gazed at Alaric, who was holding onto Little Red Riding Hood.
Meanwhile, Lancelot, who had fallen into madness, decisively retreated the moment the Reality Marble dissipated—whether it was by his Master's command or his own will was unknown.
Aside from these three, Alaric's attention turned to the Conqueror King—Iskandar—whose magical energy had dropped to dangerously low levels.
Not only had he been restraining Lancelot, but he had also deployed his Reality Marble and allowed Ptolemy to unleash a Noble Phantasm. These repeated battles had completely drained the magical energy Iskandar had accumulated.
If there was anyone who would be eliminated first, the now incapacitated Iskandar was undoubtedly the prime candidate.
This thought surfaced in both Iskandar and Alaric's minds, though even Waver Velvet, his Master, remained unaware of their predicament.
"Conqueror King, your days of riding around in a chariot are over."
Alaric, holding Little Red Riding Hood's hand, put away the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad and smiled under the wary gazes of the others.
"Calm down, everyone. You can't defeat me anyway, so why not have a drink?"
Although Little Red Riding Hood was an unexpected addition, obtaining half of her had allowed Alaric to completely control the situation.
In this Holy Grail War, aside from an all-out Gilgamesh or Artoria potentially unleashing Excalibur's full power, there was no one left who could resist him.
Even so, Alaric had no intention of killing Iskandar or Artoria. Their names were not on the list of those meant to die in this war.
"Alaric, what do you mean by this?"
Waver Velvet, finally recovering from the shock, clung to the side of the chariot, looking at Alaric in confusion. He couldn't understand why Alaric, despite having secured such an overwhelming victory, was now offering peace talks.
He had completely dominated the battle—so what was he treating this war as?!
Unlike Waver's confusion, Iskandar fully understood their predicament. And Alaric's attitude made it clear that he was also aware of the situation.
Even so, Alaric still chose to stop the fight.
Yes, a ceasefire.
At this point, the power to decide the battle no longer rested with Iskandar, Artoria, or the others—it was entirely in the hands of the Caster-class Master standing before them.
That was what truly baffled Iskandar.
Alaric seemed to have never intended to kill them here and seize the Holy Grail outright.
After the battles of the first and second nights, Iskandar had finally noticed something they had all overlooked.
The Holy Grail War was a secret battle between seven Masters and their summoned Servants, with victory conditions that were simple—defeat all six opposing Servants, and the war would end.
The victor would obtain the Holy Grail, said to be an omnipotent wish-granting device.
Under normal circumstances, Masters and Servants would carefully assess their enemies' strengths before engaging in battle. But when an opportunity to eliminate an enemy arose, few would let it slip by—after all, taking down an opponent meant one step closer to victory.
Artoria, Diarmuid, and even Iskandar himself thought this way.
Even though Iskandar had acted based on his vision of an ideal battle, his fundamental goal was no different.
This way of thinking wasn't wrong—as long as the result was the same.
But this Holy Grail War had introduced an anomaly—an existence even more unusual than the summoning of the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.
Not only had it summoned Merlin, an impossible Heroic Spirit, but it had also brought forth the last of the Knights of the Round Table—Sir Alaric.
A man shrouded in mystery. Though alive, his power rivaled that of the greatest heroes of the Age of Gods.
Yet despite his overwhelming advantage, Alaric had not killed a single Servant—not because he couldn't, but because he chose not to.
'What is he waiting for?'
Even with the ability to accelerate the progression of the Holy Grail War, Alaric had fought two major battles without killing a single Servant.
Even now, with Iskandar completely incapacitated, barely maintaining his physical form, Alaric did not strike the final blow.
This deeply intrigued Iskandar—what exactly was Alaric trying to do?
Iskandar did not fear death, but he was immensely curious about Alaric's actions.
After a brief moment of thought, before Iskandar could speak, Artoria suddenly stepped forward and asked,
"Knight Alaric, what exactly are you trying to do?"
Artoria knew—she had failed again.
Not only had she failed to reclaim Irisviel from Alaric, but even with four Servants and Iskandar's Reality Marble, they had failed to make any real impact on him.
From the moment the battle began, the most severe injury Alaric had suffered was a single severed arm.
Other than that, his condition remained completely stable.
In fact, with the power of Little Red Riding Hood, he had reached his peak—a level of strength comparable to the greatest heroes of the Age of Gods, unaffected by the decline of modern mystery.
This absolute disparity was laid bare before Artoria. Though she would not back down, she understood that rescuing Irisviel in the short term was impossible.
At the same time, she noticed something odd—Alaric had never acted with killing intent.
As if realizing the meaning behind Artoria's words and the curiosity in Iskandar's gaze, Alaric casually replied,
"Because there's no need to. Even if I defeat you now, I won't get the Holy Grail—or rather, the Grail I get would be useless."
At these words, everyone's expression changed.
Apart from Waver, who sought the Holy Grail merely to prove himself to Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, the Servants, including Artoria and Iskandar, all had wishes they could not abandon.
They had heeded the Holy Grail's summons for this very reason, manifesting from the Throne of Heroes to fight in this fabricated war.
But the information Alaric had just revealed was something they could not ignore.
Artoria immediately asked,
"What do you mean? Knight Alaric, answer me!"
"Yeah, Alaric, isn't the Holy Grail nearly complete?"
Although Waver didn't have a strong desire for the Holy Grail, he was still curious about why Alaric would say such a thing.
He trusted Alaric's knowledge of magecraft—after all, they had studied together for a year. More importantly, Alaric had no reason to lie about the Holy Grail.
Li Ye waved his hand nonchalantly and explained,
"It's simple. With or without me, you wouldn't be able to use the Holy Grail for your wishes anyway."
His tone was calm as he continued,
"I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but considering certain factors, I'll explain.
The Holy Grail is already corrupted. While its function remains intact, it will manifest your wishes in a malevolent way.
In other words, it will twist your desires into the worst possible outcome."
Everyone was stunned.
Waver even gasped,
"Eh?! No way!"
Alaric smirked and added,
"You can thank the Einzbern family for that. If you don't believe me, ask Kiritsugu Emiya about what exactly the Einzberns summoned in the last Holy Grail War."
Leading Little Red Riding Hood by the hand, Alaric smiled and said, "If you all want to know about the Holy Grail, why don't we find a place to sit down and chat?"
Hearing this, Artoria and Iskandar exchanged glances—
Unlike Artoria and Iskandar, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne sought his Master's opinion.
Although Kayneth had already distanced himself from the battlefield, Alaric's unreserved words were clear to him, and thus he too became aware of the matter regarding the Holy Grail.
For Kayneth, the Holy Grail was merely an opportunity to add another achievement to his historical record, but he wasn't going to pass up this chance.
Even if it meant letting someone like Alaric explain the matter of the Holy Grail.
"Follow them."
With those words, Kayneth gave his orders, and Diarmuid Ua Duibhne had no choice but to join the group.
...
Moments later, at the Einzbern castle on the outskirts of Fuyuki—
Under Alaric's insistence on maintaining a sense of ceremony, Artoria reluctantly led the group to the Einzbern base. Iskandar, brimming with enthusiasm, even pulled out a barrel of aged wine from who knows where eager to share it with everyone.
Meanwhile, Alaric released Little Red Riding Hood, letting her roam freely in the garden. He then casually threw an arm around Waver's shoulder and began chatting with him. Despite the two battles they had experienced, their friendship seemed unchanged.
Eventually, the conversation turned into Waver pouring out his grievances to Alaric—complaining about his struggles in academics and magecraft over the past three years after Alaric's departure, as well as Alaric's habit of keeping so many secrets.
"You tricked me so badly, Alaric!"
After the brief exchange, just as Alaric was about to address Artoria and the others' confusion about the Holy Grail, an uninvited guest arrived.
"Hmph! Throwing a feast without this king, are we?"
The oldest hero of humanity, Gilgamesh, appeared before Alaric and the others.
PS: The Tsundere King was sulking because no one invited him.