Typemoon: Starting Out as the Lion King's Personal Knight

This is merely an episode that unfolded in a hidden and unknown place. The quiet exit of humanity's most ancient hero king was something no one could have anticipated—not even Alaric, who regarded the Hero King as his greatest enemy, could foresee this event.

Except for one person—someone who, after exhausting every possible effort (even going as far as ambushing his mentor), managed to form a Servant contract with the Hero King to avoid being eliminated from the Holy Grail War.

"The connection to the Servant has been severed."

At the Tohsaka mansion, Kotomine Kirei's expression turned from shock to disbelief. Having already experienced the severing of the connection when Hundred Faces Hassan perished, Kirei fully understood what this meant.

The Hero King, whom Tohsaka Tokiomi regarded as the ultimate Servant for certain victory, had quietly fallen in action during what seemed like nothing more than a casual post-dinner stroll, all within less than a day of forming the contract.

Confusion, doubt, and—above all—resentment filled Kirei's mind.

Kirei was unwilling to leave the war so easily. Even if the Hero King had exited the stage, that was no reason for him to bow out as well.

Unable to sit still, Kirei immediately left the Tohsaka mansion and made his way toward Ryuudou Temple.

...

In the massive underground cavern beneath Ryuudou Temple, the Greater Grail shone with extraordinary brilliance after absorbing the mana equivalent to the souls of hundreds of thousands of ordinary humans from the Hero King.

The nauseating glow of curses swirled endlessly, distorting the air around the Greater Grail and forming a scene akin to an accretion disk.

It was as if something was about to open—a revelation of its contents.

But no one was left to witness this sight. The Magus of Flowers, Merlin, who had departed the underground cavern as soon as the light began to rise, now stood alone at the top of Ryuudou Temple.

As the core of the ritual, the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad and Little Red Riding Hood, positioned at Ryuudou Temple, worked tirelessly to maintain the flow and stability of the light.

For the Anchor of the Star, capable of stabilizing the surface of the planet, ensuring the stability of this light was effortless.

Now watching the events from a different vantage point, Merlin raised an eyebrow, his expression turning curious as he directed his gaze toward the mountain road below. The silhouette of an elderly man entered his line of sight.

This was a certain old man who had not perished during the battle where Alaric killed Lancelot.

Five centuries of obsession, twisted into an unsightly yet overwhelming desire for survival, urged this old man—Matou Zouken—toward the Greater Grail.

The war had deviated too far from his expectations. Zouken could not stand idly by without intervening in such circumstances.

Alaric's absurdity had exceeded all his calculations. At this rate, could the Holy Grail truly survive?

More importantly, Zouken had already understood what Alaric sought to accomplish. Therefore—he could push things further.

As Matou Zouken reached the end of his five-hundred-year journey, the battles in Fuyuki City continued to rage—

In the Reality Marble where the battle raged on, the conflict had reached its climax.

The Ionioi Hetairoi, once again unleashed, finally displayed its unparalleled divine might thanks to an ample supply of mana.

However, opposing this peerless army was none other than the Knights of the Round Table, who had once vanquished the Goddess of Origin and annihilated the Red Dragon.

Now, they too fought with full force.

Thousands of Gates of Judgment opened like a constellation, and horrifying beams of light tore through the earth and the invincible army with unstoppable force.

Amid the rumbling thunder, a divine lightning bolt ascended to the heavens.

This was the Thunder of Judgment, a manifestation of the authority of Zeus, the King of the Gods, crushing the world with unparalleled divine might!

Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, who had also received half the power of Little Red Riding Hood, revealed his ultimate authority. He was not only the son of Zeus but also the King of Conquerors who conquered the world!

"Oooohhhhhh!!!"

With a deafening roar, Iskandar raised his short sword high. The divine thunder surged into the heavens, transforming into an endless thunderstorm that obscured the stars across the universe!

The demigod, wielding absolute authority, extinguished the starlight that filled the sky!

The divine thunder roared, transforming into a prison of lightning that became the world's sole reality. It engulfed every corner of the sky, rejecting Alaric's actions. And against this overwhelming storm of divine might, a black nebula bloomed.

If the divine thunder represented the power of an outsider assimilated into this world, then the nebula embodied the light of an alien star.

Under the gaze of gem-like eyes, even the death of divine thunder was calculated and absorbed.

In just over ten seconds—

The ground began to crumble, and the sky was once again cloaked in the nebula.

Three layers of nebula rotated slowly, forming a storm-like surge of terrifying energy. It tore apart hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers, like a meat grinder shredding them to pieces!

Steel dragons numbering in the thousands soared through the army, unstoppable in their path, piercing through line after line of death's thread. The once-invincible soldiers suffered heavy casualties!

Without the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad in hand, Alaric could not unleash firepower equivalent to the Sword of Promised Victory. The Gates of Judgment and other weapons he projected could not sustain that level of mana output.

But this was no problem at all. High firepower was merely one of Alaric's many means of achieving victory!

Wielding a pitch-black greatsword, Alaric became a streak of light charging through the army. The steel greatsword, tens of meters long, accelerated by hundreds of propulsion devices, generated terrifying wind pressure.

Even without direct hits, the mere wind pressure from the blade sliced through countless soldiers and formations like the sharpest knife.

The steel chain dragon danced with Alaric's movements, weaving through the army and leaving streams of blood in its wake.

Those gem-like eyes continuously absorbed the death of all phenomena in the world and severed it.

This was, indeed, a hero invincible against ten thousand foes!

Alone, Alaric could battle tens of thousands of soldiers without retreating—and even annihilate them!

Because of Alaric's presence amid the army, other powerful individuals within the Ionioi Hetairoi, such as those with Noble Phantasms capable of immense firepower (like Ptolemy), could not unleash their full strength.

In just a few dozen seconds, the army had suffered devastating losses, teetering on the brink of collapse!

Thud, thud.

With the thunderous gallop of a warhorse, a massive shadow enveloped Alaric—

"Take this!"

Riding his beloved steed, Bucephalus, the King of Conquerors, Iskandar, now clad in divine thunder and with all his stats boosted by Zeus's power, swung his mightiest sword!

"You shouldn't have come so close to me, Iskandar!"

Spinning around, Alaric let go of the pitch-black greatsword in his hand. The sword detonated instantly, releasing a horrifying shockwave that roared in all directions.

At the same time, Alaric projected a holy sword into his hand. As his eyes locked onto the lines of death, he swung with absolute speed—

Buzz!

The surging sword light tore through the air, cutting deep into Iskandar's army behind him. The sword's fissure spanned hundreds of meters, creating a canyon-like scar that rapidly expanded, bringing the already ravaged earth closer to collapse.

A severed arm holding a thunder-infused short sword flew high into the air. The blood mist that should have erupted was instantly evaporated in the blink of an eye.

"What a domineering strike!"

Iskandar grinned, his battle spirit surging ever higher.

He would not surrender so easily!

The divine bulls roared, ignoring the soldiers in their path. Under the control of an unnamed woman, the chariot surged forward!

The rolling thunder transformed into a lightning dragon, pushing aside all soldiers in its way and clearing a path for the chariot's advance.

Noticing the incoming chariot and its driver, Alaric immediately recognized her identity—

The unnamed sister of Hephaestion!

As a shadow figure to Iskandar, she had not been granted a name, yet her actions as an agent had etched her into Iskandar's legend.