In Tokiomi's view, magi and ordinary people belonged to two completely different worlds.
Pursuing the Root, yearning for the Root… that was every magus's dream.
Like Kiritsugu, who also believed in a form of worldly justice, Tokiomi's goal was the Root.
For this, he could sacrifice everything, even his own wife and daughter.
Under this premise, Tokiomi was an elegant magus. He adhered to the principles of magi, absolutely forbidding them from acting recklessly and affecting the ordinary world.
One was one, two was two. That was Tohsaka Tokiomi.
Sensing the dark magical energy of the sea monster, he rushed to the pier area and witnessed the tragic deaths and severe injuries of countless people under the creature.
Clearly, the being regarded as Caster had already wreaked havoc here.
Regardless of their motive, such actions had clearly crossed Tokiomi's bottom line.
Expressing his hope for the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, to intervene, he was met with the golden king's disdainful gaze.
"Tokiomi, what are you thinking?"
"First, you ally with those two boring humans, then you wish for this king to deal with such a lowly creature? What? These humans are not this king's subjects. Should this king care for them?"
Only wanting to fight Ryuya, having finally found some amusement, Golden Gil disdained cooperating with Kiritsugu and Kayneth.
He bluntly refused Tokiomi, even explicitly stating that if he wanted Golden Gil to act, he should use a Command Spell; otherwise, it was impossible.
"This..." Helpless against Golden Gil's attitude, Tokiomi glanced at Kirei for a second.
His disciple's Servant, Assassin, was clearly no match for such a sea monster. After all, Assassin excelled in single combat and lacked large-scale destructive power.
"Diarmuid, you can't defeat the enemy either, right?"
Also displeased with Caster's appearance, the proud Kayneth simply felt this thing violated the pride of magi. Such an ugly existence was unworthy of competing on the same stage as him as a Servant or Master.
"My apologies, my Lord. I can only limit the attack range of the sea monster's tentacles. I cannot eliminate it."
Shaking his head, Diarmuid confirmed Kayneth's thoughts.
"Saber, what about you?"
Although they had shared intelligence and knew each other's Servants' true names, Kiritsugu preferred to call Saber by her class.
From the perspective of a righteous agent, defeating the sea monster and saving ordinary people was, of course, what Kiritsugu wanted.
"I can try. But I don't think that sea monster will give me the chance to gather magical energy."
With her emerald eyes fixed intently on the giant monster in the sea, Saber frowned.
"I will do my best to buy time."
This time, even before Kayneth spoke, Diarmuid volunteered.
Even Kirei's Hassan of the Hundred Faces manifested simultaneously, expressing a desire to contribute.
"Hahaha... How could this king miss out on such fun?"
Interrupting the tense atmosphere, the King of Conquerors descended from the sky in his Gordius Wheel, with a dizzy Waver still on board.
"Rider?" *N
Surprised by Iskandar's appearance, recalling how this Conqueror had extended an olive branch to his enemies on the battlefield just days ago, everyone suddenly found it normal.
With Caster summoning a sea monster and many Servants gathered here, it was normal for the Conqueror to come, right?
"How could such a lively gathering lack this king? Let this king fight alongside you."
Smiling, Iskandar's nature wouldn't allow ordinary people to be slaughtered by Servants either.
Expressing his desire to participate, Saber suddenly had several companions safeguarding her.
"Hey, little girl who calls herself a King, can you handle it?"
Still unaware of Saber's true identity, only knowing she was also a King, Iskandar looked at her and continued, "If you can't, then this king can intervene."
Confident in his Reality Marble, in Iskandar's eyes, the sea monster summoned by Caster wasn't a major issue.
What he found troublesome was the creature's massive size. If he acted, he could only rely on his army to slowly grind it down.
During that time, the damage caused by the sea monster would continuously expand. If possible, a one-hit kill was best. Therefore, Iskandar wanted to confirm Saber's power.
"No problem, as long as I have enough time."
Saber nodded. She was very confident in the power of her Holy Sword, Excalibur.
"Good, then let's go, everyone!"
Taking the initiative to issue the command, with Iskandar's charge, Diarmuid, Hassan, and even Kayneth in his Mystic Code, Volumen Hydrargyrum, joined the fray.
"Roars..."
Likely sensing the immense magical energy gathering on Saber, the sea monster's tentacles released the ordinary people who hadn't escaped yet and actively attacked Saber's position. However, these tentacles were all intercepted by Iskandar and the others.
Whoosh...
Magical energy surged.
The sound of inhalation was Saber adjusting her state.
Watching the ordinary people being slaughtered around her, Saber finally mobilized all the magical energy within her. It was her strongest attack!
"Ex-Calibur!"
A miracle of the King, forged from the dreams and wills of soldiers who vanished from battlefields from past to future, pierced through by unwavering conviction.
With the convergence and eruption of a shining blade, an attack powerful enough to stir the sea surface was Saber's ultimate strike.
As the light flashed, the giant sea monster also vanished from the sea surface.
Letting out a sigh of relief, just as everyone thought the battle was over...
"Hmph."
It was the King of Heroes's disdainful laugh.
Hearing Golden Gil's laugh immediately, Tokiomi felt a sense of foreboding.
In an instant, seeming to understand something, his first reaction was to shout, "Retreat, now!"
"!!!"
Even without Tokiomi's reminder, Kiritsugu and the others also sensed the problem at this moment: the sea monster's magical energy was still present.
Their bodies instinctively retreated, and the spot where they had just stood was instantly swarmed by more tentacles.
When the dust settled, what they saw was the sea monster, completely unharmed... no, it should be said it had become even larger.
"What in the world... is going on?"
Staring dumbfounded at the sea monster, no one understood why Saber's attack had been ineffective. It was clearly an immensely powerful strike.
"Fools. You idiots, are you trying to make this king die laughing?"
Sitting high in the sky, aloof, Golden Gil had no interest in this fight. He just watched everyone with amusement, laughing heartily without concealing his mockery.
"How utterly stupid. You lot, the magus behind that sea monster has high skill, directly laying a massive magic circle beneath this sea area."
"In other words, unless you can vaporize the sea monster along with the entire sea, no matter how many times you attack, you're just feeding it magical energy."
Smiling, Golden Gil drew his Ea, looking unceremoniously at Tokiomi, "Tokiomi, with your power, you cannot defeat this sea monster. Agree to a condition, and this king will help you. How about it?"
Originally looking down on Command Spells, finding them laughable, Tokiomi had used one to escape from Ryuya's grasp.
(A/N: In fact, Ryuya let Golden Gil go intentionally, after all, with his Beast of the Apocalypse's ability, he could have directly consumed Golden Gil even with Command Spells.)
Having designs on Tokiomi's remaining two Command Spells, Golden Gil wanted nothing else. He now desired to use the Command Spells to strengthen himself, then defeat Ryuya and wash away his disgrace.
"My King, this..."
Realizing Gilgamesh's true intention, Tokiomi hesitated.
If he truly lost his Command Spells, he would undoubtedly become a puppet and lose any chance of competing for the Holy Grail.
But if he didn't...
Remembering that the previous supervisor, Risei, still had some Command Spells, Tokiomi made a decision. Just as he was about to agree to Golden Gil's demand...
Boom…
Roar!
'What was that?'
As a deafening sound erupted, everyone present was stunned by a tremendous draconic pressure.
Completely unaware of what was happening, they saw it... a... dragon?
Yes, a silver dragon descending from nowhere… the White Dragon of Britain arrived at this moment.
Neatly tearing the sea monster's massive body to shreds with a single claw, before it could regenerate, the silver dragon breathed a blast of flame, instantly vaporizing the entire sea area along with the magic circle at the bottom.
"This... what in the world is going on?"
Utterly confused, everyone watched as the dragon effortlessly dealt with the sea monster, then rapidly shrunk in size, vanished with a teleport, and appeared right before their eyes.
And the sea monster, which had required the combined strength of all of them and still couldn't be handled, was gone as if it were made of paper.
Just gone!
"This... what exactly...?"
Staring in disbelief at the man before her, Saber was certain the silver dragon was definitely the form of the Vile King, Vortigern!
She clearly remembered her battle with that King in Britain. If not for luck and destiny, Saber didn't believe she could have been a match for the Vile King.
Remembering how the Vile King's silver dragon form crushed her armies like a war machine, even now, whenever she recalled that silver dragon, Saber felt her blood run cold.
Taking a deep breath, she and the others could only stare dumbly as Ryuya, the man who had just transformed into the silver dragon, walked towards them and casually asked,
"Hey, everyone, you're all here."
This was Ryuya, who had easily dealt with the sea monster and now appeared before everyone.
Before, at the Einzbern Castle.
"Hmm, so Uryuu Ryuunosuke, that idiot, finally summoned Gilles de Rais? Then the final Servant has arrived. It's time to prepare the final banquet."
Listening to his subordinates report about Ryuunosuke, Ryuya knew it was time to capture this uncontrollable 'Big Eyed Moé'.
Following the surge of magical energy to the sea area where Ryuunosuke and the big-eyed Gilles were summoning the sea monster, he was actually a bit late.
It couldn't be helped. The main reason was that Souji, after failing to rank in the sword dance competition, had a bit of a mental breakdown and simply confessed to Ryuya.
"Ryu-nii... I love you!"
Looking at Chiyo-chan who had finally grown up, how could Ryuya bear to refuse the girl?
Spending a day with Chiyo-chan was the main reason he didn't come for the big-eyed one immediately.
After all, Ryuya caring for his wife was normal. It would be toxic if he ignored Souji's confession.
'Oh? This guy altered the sea monster's magic circle? Interesting. A butterfly effect?'
Perhaps because he had consistently prevented Ryuunosuke from killing people, Ryuya found that the evil young man in his twenties from the original Fourth Holy Grail War was now just eighteen, and the sea monster from the original work had appeared earlier.
Raising an eyebrow, he also saw the efforts of Saber and the others. But clearly, the Saber of this world couldn't handle the big-eyed one, at least not the first time.
Sighing, the impatient Ryuya directly transformed into the White Dragon of Britain, the first racial talent he had obtained.
Instantly, all his parameters increased by one level, from SS+ to SSS-.
Although it was SSS-, Ryuya still felt the peak state he had experienced in Uruk.
Excited, the Sun-Crowned King, accompanied by the dragon's cry, easily shattered the sea monster, destroyed the magic circle, and finally tossed the unconscious big-eyed Gilles and Ryuunosuke into Rashomon.
Reverting from his draconic form to human, he took the initiative to approach Tokiomi and the others, greeting the nervous Servants and Masters who had been at their wits' end against the sea monster.
"Hi, everyone, you're all here."
It was a simple, casual greeting, like a neighbor's 'Hello, had lunch yet?'. Yet, against the backdrop of the sea monster's corpse, it felt eerie and created a stark contrast.
Once again shocking everyone, Ryuya found no one spoke, and they just stared at him foolishly.
"Why are you looking at me? Although you probably wouldn't have been finished off by Caster, I did help you. Saying 'thank you' isn't too much to ask, is it?"
Raising an eyebrow, as soon as Ryuya finished speaking, he heard Iskandar's excited voice, "So strong, Ryuya! You're incredibly strong!"
"Was that dragon you just now? You're not human, are you? You're an ancient dragon that has lived until now, right?"
He excitedly mimicked Ryuya's earlier form. Iskandar's Macedonia was from the end of the Age of Gods, so he had never seen a dragon, a Phantasmal Species, and was very interested in Ryuya's draconic form.
But before he could finish, he was pushed aside by Saber.
"Ryuya, just who are you? What is your relationship with the Vile King?"
"Why can you transform into Britain's Silver Dragon? Just who... are you?"
Her emerald eyes fixed intently on Ryuya, Saber voiced the question on everyone's mind.
You, who are excessively strong, completely beyond human, even beyond Servants… what exactly are you?!