Chapter 546: [546] Opening Act - Heavenly Thunder

First came a glimmer of gold, then an explosion of scattered lightning, filling the sky with radiant golden hues as bright as daylight reborn.

This was an unprecedented opening ceremony. The stage was set, the lighting prepared, and all audiovisual effects in place. Thus, the actors made their grand entrance with dazzling steps, unwilling to miss this magnificent farewell performance.

Surveillance magecraft, alert magecraft, and defensive magecraft were all deployed simultaneously. The Empress took her position at the center, commanding the magical garden with the spiritual rank of dual summons. The divine spear gleamed sharply, and the holy banner fluttered as Karna and Jeanne d’Arc emerged side by side from within, their overwhelming presence as top-tier Servants naturally placing them at the forefront. The crimson lion raced forth—though late, Mordred arrived with her kingly sword shimmering, fearless as ever.

The white-haired priest, the undead mercenary, the new head of the Yggdmillennia family, the homunculus hero... Empowered by magecraft, they observed the battlefield in the sky from the throne room of the Fortress of Millennia with utmost vigilance. Nearby sat a woman in an emerald-green dress, her smile gentle and serene.

"Sakatsuki."

Jeanne d’Arc murmured the name of the mastermind behind this Holy Grail War, pressing her lips together as she immediately began assessing their forces. Despite having powerful Servants like Mordred and Karna present, and the Empress fully prepared, she couldn’t shake the overwhelming sense of unease.

"Rider, where is Astolfo?"

Sieg’s voice came through the team’s communication link: "Rider was previously at the Fortress of Millennia and is now flying toward the Hanging Gardens."

With Astolfo’s whereabouts confirmed, Jeanne scanned her surroundings, only to realize someone else was missing.

"...Where is Atalanta?"

This time, silence filled the communication channel. Confusion flickered across everyone’s faces—clearly, no one had caught sight of Atalanta before Sakatsuki’s arrival. Even Jeanne, who had last seen her in the garden, hadn’t encountered her since.

"Then allow me to explain." A voice sounded from afar—it was Sakatsuki. As if reading their expressions, he stated calmly:

"Before I stood here, Red Archer—Atalanta—was slain by my hand."

Like a stone cast into still waters, gasps erupted through the communication link among the Masters. Karna lifted his gaze, his expression turning grave. Only Mordred frowned slightly, yet she couldn’t help tightening her grip on her sword. As for Jeanne, her composure shattered in an instant.

While the others were merely stunned by yet another loss in their ranks, Jeanne—who knew of the relationship between the two—was struck far more deeply. If Sakatsuki could kill his beloved without hesitation, then it meant...

A chill crawled up from her feet, swiftly seizing her limbs. Jeanne shuddered, finally sensing the aura of the decisive battle. She looked toward the horizon—the flowing air had unknowingly stilled, the streams sighing as they reversed their course. Ahead, storm clouds gathered behind the black Knight King, oppressive with crackling lightning and thunder. Everything weighed heavily, suffocatingly so.

Silence. All things fell in silence, leaving no room for any reprieve. In this wordless standoff, only the gleaming blades and murderous gazes spoke of each other’s will and determination.

"...Something’s off." The Masters, well-trained in suppressing their emotions, remained composed as Amakusa interjected, "I know Sakatsuki’s intel. His greatest weakness is the mana deficiency caused by his Assassin Saint Graph. Even if he obtained the electric orb from Frankenstein, it shouldn’t sustain prolonged consumption."

"Yet look at the sky—the lightning still hasn’t dissipated, growing more concentrated instead. Even as intimidation, this is too wasteful." Amakusa deduced, "Sakatsuki must have found another way to steal mana."

With a hoarse crackle, Empress Semiramis chimed in, supporting her Master’s words: "The Master is right. I suspect Sakatsuki has connected to a new mana source—likely the Holy Grail. After all, he spent time with the Red Faction. If he could kill a Master undetected, he could just as easily establish a covert connection with the Grail."

"Not to mention, he was the one who granted Sieg his Master status. Sakatsuki likely has some understanding of the Grail." Fiore exchanged a glance with Caules. "Assassin, can you check the Grail’s status while they’re locked in this standoff?"

"Quite the taskmaster, aren’t you, little lady? Fine, but it’ll take some time."

"Understood. Then, Ruler, please buy time for the Empress’s operation—say anything you need to."

"Huh? Oh, right..." Though momentarily confused, Jeanne d’Arc knew this wasn’t the time for hesitation. Just as she steeled herself to confront Sakatsuki in his current state, another voice interjected gently:

"In that case, let me assist you first."

————

On the battlefield of the Hanging Gardens, the silver-haired little girl materialized, landing gracefully between the two opposing forces. Her silver-gray eyes blinked at the black-robed youth floating midair, like a sprite who had wandered into the human world by mistake.

No one could remain unmoved—even Sakatsuki lowered his pistol, flashing to Jack’s side and crouching to stroke her hair. "Why are you here?"

"Because everyone’s here," Jack replied innocently. "I should fight too, right?"

"...Hearing that from a child leaves a bad taste in my mouth," Mordred muttered, averting her gaze. Yet none of the Servants spoke against it.

To kill, to take lives—even if Jack had been purified, this remained a Servant’s fate. As the true Black Assassin, she belonged on the battlefield.

But—

"We didn’t go through all this just for you to throw your life away here." Sakatsuki shook his head softly. "Listen to me and go back. As long as you still call me by that title, it’s my duty to shoulder everything for you."

"Ugh..." Jack pouted. "Mom was right. Dad always finds these noble-sounding excuses to trouble himself."

"But I don’t mind, little Jack." The black robe swayed as Sakatsuki waved his hand, watching the small figure disappear into the battlefield. Meanwhile, within the Fortress of Millennia, Reika Rikudou smiled at the group and said:

"Well, this should cover some of the food and lodging expenses, at least."

"Thank you so much, Miss Reika," Fiore said sincerely. On the other side, the usually polite Sieg remained silent, her gaze fixed intently on Sakatsuki as he returned to the front lines, her expression openly grave.

"This feeling..."

As if sensing something, her eyes met the young man’s through the magical screen, and she instinctively clenched the back of her hand.

Three Command Spells, imbued with miraculous power, steadied the homunculus girl’s heart.

————

"Not done yet, Assassin?"

"The investigation is complete, but the worst-case scenario has occurred." The Empress gritted her teeth as she stared at the manifested form of the Winter Saint within the Greater Grail. "Sakatsuki did indeed plant something within the Greater Grail, but this level of magecraft... Even I need time to decipher its true nature."

"In other words, we still need to stall."

"Exactly. How long did that brat even buy us? Half a minute? Forty seconds?" Semiramis snapped irritably. "That’s barely enough time for Astolfo to even get here! Stop dawdling and do your damn job, Miss Saint."

"Ugh..." Jeanne d’Arc let out a reluctant sigh. Truthfully, she had no desire to speak with Sakatsuki in his current state, but out of duty, she stepped forward, her first words cutting straight to the heart:

"Sakatsuki, why did you kill Atalanta?"

The deeper meaning behind this question was understood only by Jeanne and Sakatsuki. Despite the tension hanging thick in the air, Sakatsuki seemed almost amused by the pointless inquiry, answering leisurely:

"If this is the final battle, then we should give it our all. I won’t leave anyone—including myself—any chance to turn the tables."

"And what about Siegfried of the Black Faction? His death?"

"So you’ve figured it out... Naturally, it was because he, too, posed a risk of defection. And if he became an enemy, his Dragon-Slayer trait would have affected Artoria."

"Hmph."

A displeased sound came from the black-armored King of Knights. Even as she sat silently atop her skeletal steed, an unshakable storm swirled behind her, like an army of thousands at her command: "It matters not. A mere Dragon-Slayer cannot withstand the storm I bring forth."

Llamrei suddenly let out a restless whinny. Sensing this, Artoria Alter sharply raised her lance. "Enough of this troublesome stalling, Master (Prince). He’s coming."

He’s coming? Who is he? What are Sakatsuki and Artoria planning?

"Understood." Sakatsuki cast one last glance at the bewildered Jeanne, the corner of his lips quirking up. "Then let me leave you with one last cliché line, Jeanne."

"—Did you really think only you were stalling for time?"

From afar, the cry of a hippogriff pierced the air, the carefree voice of a saintly knight rippling through the thunderous storm clouds:

"Hello? Anyone there? Because of this weird weather, my flight took quite the detour. Sorry for being so late!"

Realizing a certain truth, Jeanne d’Arc’s pupils constricted sharply: "Danger, get out of there, Astolfo!"

Beside the golden-haired saint, a burst of flames bloomed as Karna charged forward, instantly closing the distance to Sakatsuki. His undying blade swept horizontally, but Artoria—having anticipated this—swung her holy spear. A violent wind field erupted, brutally extinguishing the flames and forcing Karna to retreat. At that very moment, Sakatsuki raised his hand high, golden electric orbs brightening like morning stars:

"Bring down divine punishment—Spear of Thunder!"

Thunderclouds gathered as winds from the ends of the world howled. Within the severe convective weather forged by heroic spirit power, a cloud-to-ground lightning strike of one billion volts was born. The crimson lightning resembled the legendary spear Gungnir, releasing infinite light and heat as it carried the might to pierce through any living being—descending mercilessly toward the defenseless pink-haired paladin!

"Rider——!!!"