Chapter 47: The Enthusiastic Citizen, Mr. Kuroda

To be honest, Laeticia was completely baffled. She couldn’t make sense of Takashi Kuroda’s actions at all. But she wasn’t the only one struggling to understand—hidden beneath her helmet, Mordred was just as confused.

"What the hell is this Master of mine doing? What’s even going on?" Mordred thought she had already grasped just how reckless her Master was after their earlier battle, but the scene unfolding before her now was even more bewildering.

What the hell? Why is he calling that girl who just rushed over "Master"? Is my Master actually someone else’s Servant? That’s just weird.

But Mordred couldn’t entirely dismiss the possibility. After all, based on the knowledge the Holy Grail had provided, no ordinary Master should be this absurdly strong—capable of going toe-to-toe with a Servant, even overpowering one. It defied all logic. The only explanation was that he must be a Servant himself.

"Don’t overthink it. Just unleash your Noble Phantasm—the normal one. Save your strongest move for your dear ‘father.’" Takashi’s voice echoed in her ear through the black mist ring he’d given her earlier, allowing for silent communication.

"Fine, I won’t hold back! Let’s see if the Master who just overpowered me can withstand this!"

"Clarent Blood Arthur—!!"

Since she hadn’t removed her helmet, she couldn’t unleash the full power of her sword. Instead, she released only its radiant light—a silver glow "more dazzling than any silver." Even so, the pressure it emitted was enough to make Laeticia, watching from a distance, tense up.

"All is lost… Ruination… PAIN!"

As he spoke the words, Takashi’s body ignited with a dark emerald aura. The black mist around him grew frenzied, as if answering the call of its king. He leapt into the air, gathering the power of the Ruination into the Blade of the Ruined King before descending in a devastating downward slash aimed directly at Mordred.

The blinding silver light clashed against the overwhelming black mist, creating a shockwave that tore through the battlefield. Laeticia raised an arm to shield herself, but the sheer force still pushed her back, carving deep grooves into the mud beneath her feet.

Meanwhile, far away, a golden-haired man leisurely hopping from one telephone pole to another paused mid-step. Crossing his arms, he felt the rush of wind and observed the distant collision of silver and black with an intrigued smirk.

"Hmph. Interesting."

By the time the storm of energy dissipated, the two combatants had been flung dozens of meters apart, leaving behind a sizable crater where they had clashed. Takashi took a moment to assess the aftermath of tanking a Noble Phantasm head-on. Not bad. A decent warm-up. Even though Mordred hadn’t used her full power, it was enough to give him a clear measure of his current strength.

Mordred, on the other hand, nearly stumbled as she steadied herself. What kind of monster is this Master?! The black mist seemed like some kind of magical energy, yet he wielded it like a close-combat specialist. What, are Casters just supposed to be overpowered melee fighters now?

To that, Takashi would simply say: Tell that to the Israeli Boxer, the Avalon Swordsaint, and the Uruk Axe King.

"Alright, Mordred. Run in this direction—now! Stay hidden. Someone will meet you and explain everything." Takashi’s voice crackled through the black mist ring once more.

Though still confused, Mordred obeyed without question, swiftly retreating from the battlefield.

"Wait, stop!" Laeticia moved to pursue, but seeing Takashi swaying unsteadily—as if on the verge of collapse—she hesitated. Concern outweighed her urgency, and she rushed to his side instead.

"What’s going on? Why did you fight that Servant? And this power of yours…"

"No time for explanations. There’s another powerful presence approaching. Stick to the plan—pretend to be my Master. Here, take this!"

"Huh? A Command Seal?!" Laeticia stared in shock as three red markings appeared on her hand—the unmistakable sign of a Master.

"Learned a trick or two from the old worm. Comes in handy now." Takashi had never relied much on Command Seals to control Servants—he had the Ruination’s power for that. Plus, after accumulating four spare Command Seals from the system (minus the one he’d used to heal Mordred), he still had three left even after giving Laeticia these.

He hadn’t revealed the remaining three yet, though. This battle served as the perfect cover—publicly establishing himself as a Servant and Laeticia as his Master, all under the watchful eyes of a certain enthusiastic citizen, Mr. Kuroda.

"Tch—"

Laeticia turned sharply toward the sound—and there he was. Perched atop a telephone pole, arms crossed, radiating arrogance.

"I had hoped to witness an amusing clash between two intriguing mongrels. Instead, I find one fleeing like a coward and another reeking of decay."

The man’s voice dripped with disdain, his every word laced with contempt. That trademark "mongrel" insult left no doubt about his identity—even without looking, Takashi knew exactly who had arrived.

Laeticia frowned, about to activate her True Name Discernment skill to identify this sudden intruder—but Takashi stepped in front of her, shaking his head subtly. He withdrew the black mist and instead allowed the divine aura of Goddess’s Favor to emanate from him.

The golden Servant standing atop the pole was none other than the self-proclaimed King of Heroes—Gilgamesh. Also known as Goldie, The Original Bully, or simply "that damn glittering bastard."

Gilgamesh had come for one simple reason: he sensed an interesting battle. The Holy Grail War hadn’t even officially begun, yet someone had already broken the rules, fighting in broad daylight. That alone piqued his interest.

Then, he detected a Caster-class Servant setting up a bounded field—another curiosity. He wanted to see what kind of farce these insects were staging under his nose.

But by the time he arrived, the battle was already over. The flashy Noble Phantasm he’d hoped to witness had vanished, leaving behind only the stench of death—something he despised in this era. It reminded him of that incident, stirring his anger.

Yet when he sensed the divine blessing mixed with the necrotic energy, he couldn’t help but smirk. Death and a goddess’s favor? Did that underworld queen pick herself a consort? How amusing.

"Hah. You, at least, are mildly entertaining. Consider yourself remembered."

And just like that, Gilgamesh vanished. If there was no spectacle to enjoy, he had no reason to linger.

"Good. Managed to pique his interest just enough to make him leave. If he’d decided to press the issue, things would’ve gotten messy." Takashi stretched, relieved. Using Goddess’s Favor had been a gamble—one that relied on Gilgamesh’s tendency to jump to conclusions.

Death energy + divine blessing? Must be that adorable Ereshkigal’s doing.

And it worked. Even in this younger, more volatile state (fresh from Enkidu’s death), Gilgamesh still held some respect for the Underworld Goddess. Enough to let this slide—for now.

What if he hadn’t backed down?

Simple.

Fight him. It’s not like I can’t win.

What, scared of getting wrapped up in chains?