Miracle Summoner

The atmosphere inside the Chaldea Embassy became quite lively with the arrival of the four Servants.

The group of Servants boldly sat down and occupied one side of the communal table, sitting across from Rozen, Mash, Merlin, and Anna. While enjoying the breakfast brought by Siduri, they chattered non-stop.

To call it a conversation was generous—it was mostly the Servants firing off questions, and Rozen and Mash, overwhelmed by their energy, responded in a somewhat dazed manner.

Only Merlin, as if having predicted this situation, did not participate at all, engaging in a unique battle of his own with Fou—in simpler terms, just playing around.

Anna, on the other hand, clearly disliked the rowdy atmosphere, sitting silently the whole time without saying a word.

So, essentially, it was Rozen and Mash handling the questions from the four Servants.

No—rather, three of them.

Benkei, unlike the three lively girls, didn't join in the chaos. He stood silently to the side like a statue of a guardian deity, faithfully watching over Ushiwakamaru.

The three girls chattered endlessly, asking all sorts of questions and fully displaying their curiosity.

That was probably inevitable.

Because…

"You don't have any knowledge of the future, nor do you know anything about Chaldea—only about this current era?" Rozen asked, taking a sip of water and catching his breath.

"Yes," Ushiwakamaru smiled slightly and said, "Servants are beings removed from the timeline. We exist in the Throne of Heroes outside the concept of time, so even though this era is far older than our lifetimes, we can still be summoned. However, once summoned, we are only given knowledge relevant to this current era—we don't know anything about the future."

This wasn't surprising.

"I heard that in the ritual called the 'Holy Grail War,' summoned Servants are also granted knowledge of the current time. Our case must be similar, right?" Okita tilted her head as she spoke.

Thus, the Servants summoned through Gilgamesh's Heroic Spirit Summoning only had knowledge of this era.

Information regarding the crisis of Human Order Incineration or the existence of Chaldea had all been learned through Gilgamesh or Merlin.

Nobunaga was particularly dissatisfied.

"I really wish I had been summoned into a more interesting era! This time period has nothing—no firearms, no cannons, the soldiers all use cold weapons—cold weapons! And the enemies we're fighting are beasts. Is there nothing more worth defeating?"

It seemed that for this Demon King, this era was a bit too boring.

However, despite her current attitude, the current commander of the Demonic Beast Frontlines was none other than her.

Merlin, while playing with Fou, chimed in with deliberate timing.

"All the Servants summoned by King Gilgamesh have now appeared."

"Saber: Okita Souji."

"Lancer: Musashibou Benkei."

"Archer: Oda Nobunaga."

"Rider: Ushiwakamaru."

"And myself as Caster, along with the Assassin and Berserker who have already perished. That makes seven in total. Aside from myself, who directly received orders from the King, the others were led by Nobunaga, including the soldiers on the Demonic Beast Front."

Nobunaga was the supreme commander and leader of the Demonic Beast Front. Both Servants and soldiers were under her command.

Despite her unorthodox behavior, this Demon King was indeed a brilliant tactician, a warlord of the Warring States period with natural strategic talent that even surpassed Ushiwakamaru, who had been taught the art of war by a tengu. She often came up with many unexpected tactics that caught enemies off guard.

Frankly speaking…

"If not for Nobunaga, the Demonic Beast Front might have already collapsed."

Merlin gave the highest of praises with a smile.

Of course, Ushiwakamaru and Okita didn't quite agree.

"She's definitely cheating, right?" Okita complained, clearly dissatisfied.

"Her strength is the most terrifying weapon in this era. Rather than her strategy, I'd say that's the true foundation that's held the front together," Ushiwakamaru stated righteously.

According to the two, Nobunaga had managed to sustain the front lines because her power was exceptionally effective in this era—so much so that even the gods feared it.

But Nobunaga herself laughed it off.

"This is what they call military luck! Military luck! Wahahaha!"

Nobunaga laughed proudly, while Okita and Ushiwakamaru ground their teeth in frustration.

It was then that Mash raised a question.

"Then, who were the Servants summoned as Assassin and Berserker…?"

Mash's question caused the mood in the room to grow a little heavy.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…!"

Mash quickly tried to apologize upon realizing her mistake.

But the three girls didn't seem to mind.

"It's alright. Even though the two of them perished, their sacrifices weren't in vain. So there's no reason we can't speak of them with our heads held high," Ushiwakamaru said solemnly.

Merlin once again spoke at just the right moment.

"Those two fell in battle three months and one month ago respectively. There was nothing we could do."

Merlin explained, "When all seven of us were summoned, we had the upper hand. The number of demonic beasts was still manageable, and with Nobunaga and those two mighty warriors, the tide of battle was in our favor."

That was until three months ago, when an unexpected enemy appeared on the battlefield.

"Kitab Ilani—one of Tiamat's eleven Demonic Beasts, a Scorpion Man, yet known as 'The Wise One.' He appeared suddenly on the frontlines three months ago and became the direct commander of the demonic beasts. With astounding leadership, he turned a disorganized mob into a true army, throwing our lines into disarray."

Merlin calmly explained.

"At the time, we didn't know of this enemy's existence and carelessly advanced too deep. We were surrounded. To prevent total annihilation, the Berserker-class Servant, Sir Hijikata, personally stayed behind to cover our retreat. He broke through the encirclement for us but remained behind."

Rozen reacted immediately upon hearing this.

"Hijikata?" Rozen murmured in realization. "So the Berserker was Hijikata Toshizou?"

—Hijikata Toshizou.

He was Okita Souji's former superior and leader during his life, vice-commander of the Shinsengumi. Known for enforcing strict regulations and respected even among sword masters, he was feared and revered as the Demon Vice Commander.

Despite his ferocity in battle, he also possessed the rationality of a strategist, earning Okita's utmost respect.

As a Berserker-class Servant, this Demon Vice Commander was a rare case—still capable of rational thought.

Three months ago, realizing the situation was dire, he resolutely stayed behind to cover the retreat and sacrificed himself, preventing complete annihilation.

However, due to Kitab Ilani's presence, the enemy assaults became significantly more dangerous, pushing the Demonic Beast Front to the brink.

Then, one month ago, the Assassin-class Servant made a decision: to take out Kitab Ilani.

"The Assassin-class Servant was a Chinese martial arts master from the late Qing Dynasty. A Bajiquan grandmaster, praised as a peerless martial artist in Chinese martial history known for the phrase: 'A second strike is needless, so long there is one it will suffice.' A one-hit-kill master called the No Second Blow."

Merlin spoke slowly.

"That elderly man charged into the demonic beast horde alone. Slaying countless enemies with his fists, he fought through blood and carnage, eventually breaking through the army and killing Kitab Ilani with a single punch. But his overwhelming strength drew the attention of the fake Enkidu. Despite being gravely injured, he shattered one of the fake Enkidu's arms, but his spiritual core was destroyed in the process—and so he fell."