As the banquet came to an end, it did not eliminate Hundred-Faced Hassan. Instead, Alaric, who decided to let her go, left with Little Red Riding Hood for the Tohsaka residence. In the Einzbern castle, only Artoria, Iskandar, and a few others remained.
Iskandar, having lost almost all of his magical energy, could no longer summon Gordias Wheel, leaving him with no choice but to travel on foot. In terms of combat strength, he was now barely on par with Waver.
If Artoria were to suddenly strike, Iskandar would have no choice but to meet his end in regret. However, troubled by Alaric's words regarding the corrupted Holy Grail, Artoria refrained from attacking Iskandar in his current weakened state.
But before Iskandar could leave, the Einzbern castle welcomed a new guest.
Tap. Tap.
With his hands behind his back, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald arrived with his fiancée, Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, and another half of Little Red Riding Hood.
"Lancer's Master?"
Having only seen Kayneth for the first time today, Artoria furrowed her brows slightly, seemingly unsure why he had appeared at this moment.
Besides her confusion about Kayneth's arrival, Artoria's gaze lingered on the Little Red Riding Hood standing beside him for a brief moment.
It was the same half-body as the one accompanying Alaric, possessing an identical Divine Age Magic Reactor Furnace.
At this moment, Artoria was keenly aware that if she wanted to stand on equal footing with Alaric, she needed to match his overwhelming magical energy supply.
The amount of magical energy that Kiritsugu Emiya could provide was far from enough to sustain her high-output mana bursts. However, if she could obtain a magic furnace identical to Alaric's, then Artoria, at her fullest potential, was confident she could defeat him.
In terms of pure mana output, Artoria did not believe she would lose to Alaric. The only problem was the unfair advantage of Alaric being a living being.
If Alaric's strength was only comparable to non-Divine Age Heroic Spirits, then someone like her—who came from the Divine Age—could still handle him. However, Alaric was on par with Divine Age Heroic Spirits.
A Heroic Spirit summoned as a Servant was inherently weakened, unable to display their full power. Even Artoria was no exception.
This was the fundamental difference between a living being and a Servant.
However, as long as she could acquire sufficient magical energy, Artoria was confident that she would not lose to Alaric.
"Professor Kayneth?!"
Unlike Artoria's composed demeanor, Waver immediately jumped up in shock upon seeing the new arrival, instinctively hiding behind Iskandar while staring at Kayneth in fear.
"Waver Velvet, it seems you still haven't improved at all."
Kayneth glanced at Waver before shifting his gaze to Iskandar. As the world-renowned Alexander the Great, Iskandar should have been his Servant.
If he had summoned Alexander, the outcome of this war would have already been decided.
Suppressing his frustration, Kayneth knew that his current purpose was not to provoke a conflict.
After Alaric forcibly took away half of Little Red Riding Hood, Kayneth noticed that his desires had significantly lessened. He quickly understood that Little Red Riding Hood's function had been divided into two, causing the core mechanism to go dormant.
However, his magical energy supply had not diminished, which was the source of his confidence in this visit.
"Lancer's Master, why have you come here?"
Uncertain of Kayneth's intentions, Artoria asked decisively. From her perspective, his sudden visit could not mean anything good.
The matter regarding the Holy Grail had already concluded, so what exactly was Kayneth after?
Not only Artoria, but even Waver—still hiding behind Iskandar—was staring at Kayneth, though his fear kept him from speaking.
"Cooperation."
With a cold expression, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald stated plainly:
"Saber, I want to cooperate with your Master. Of course, Waver, you're also welcome to join me."
After speaking, Kayneth cast a dismissive glance at Waver before locking eyes with Artoria.
"Huh?"
Waver, still terrified of Kayneth, looked utterly dumbfounded. The noble Lord Kayneth… was requesting cooperation.
"Lancer's Master, please clarify your intentions. What do you mean by cooperation?"
Understanding Kayneth's proposal, Artoria asked in a low voice, "Do you mean forming an alliance against Alaric? But as you already know, we are completely outmatched by him."
From the perspective of the Holy Grail War, Alaric was undoubtedly Artoria's enemy. However, based on the current situation, she did not see him as her only opponent.
Not only was Alaric too strong to defeat, but the corrupted Holy Grail was an even bigger issue.
Artoria knew that her wish could only be properly realized through a pure Holy Grail. A twisted wish was not what she sought.
If what Alaric said was true, then Artoria would not hesitate to cooperate with him.
But if that happened, any alliance with Kayneth would be meaningless.
Besides, if Kayneth had a wish he needed the Holy Grail to fulfill, then he could not possibly ignore the fact that it was corrupted.
"To defeat Alaric, of course. Though, I understand that you are currently incapable of doing so."
Kayneth smiled faintly, waving his hand dismissively before glancing at Iskandar and Waver.
"Waver Velvet, how much magical energy does your Servant have left?"
"Huh?"
Waver, momentarily feeling like he was back in the classroom, was stunned. Instinctively, he looked toward Iskandar, and a realization he had been subconsciously ignoring suddenly surfaced.
Throughout their actions thus far, Iskandar had consumed almost no magical energy.
But was that even possible?
Waver knew it wasn't.
As a familiar, Iskandar had been active for a long time, and had even used his Noble Phantasm, and yet Waver himself had not felt any significant magical energy consumption.
So where had Iskandar's magical energy come from?
After the battle against Alaric, how much did he have left?
Before Waver could open his mouth to ask, Kayneth provided the answer.
With a confident smile, Kayneth's voice echoed through the courtyard:
"It should be completely depleted, correct? You were able to activate your Reality Marble, and while I don't know exactly how much that consumed, it certainly wasn't small. Combined with your previous energy expenditure, you likely only have enough left to maintain your physical form."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Can you still fight, Iskandar?"
As a top-tier magus, Kayneth could gauge Iskandar's remaining magical energy.
After confirming that Waver lacked the mana supply to sustain Iskandar, Kayneth calculated whether Iskandar could continue functioning on his reserves.
The answer was clear—Iskandar had already exhausted his stored magical energy.
To recover, he would need a significant amount of time, and even then, his combat power would be insufficient to continue in this war.
If Kayneth were to command Lancer to attack now, Iskandar would be eliminated immediately, ending his participation in the war on the second night.
And that was why Kayneth made his proposal:
"Join me. I will provide magical energy so that you can fight as a proper Servant."
Kayneth extended his hand toward Iskandar, his gaze burning with determination:
"As long as we defeat Alaric, nothing else matters!"