"The old man really bled heavily this time."

  Sisigou smirked as he watched the video of himself iating with Rocco Belfeban and acquiring the young Hydra spe in exge for his cooperation.

  He leaned bad let out a satisfied ugh. "This is a good deal. That Hydra's worth about thirty pert of my assets."

  Kayh: "This feels odd."

  Waver: "What is it?"

  Kayh: "The video just mentiohe five Red Masters aside from Sisigou Kairi and Kotomine Shirou none of them have appeared in this group yet."

  Waver: "Now that you mention it, that's true."

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "It's peculiar. All the Masters of the Bck Fa have joihe group, but only two from the Red Fa? That's a little strange."

  Kotomine Shirou g the group chat, his expression calm, but his thoughts turbulent. He khe truth behind this mystery and hoped the group wouldn't dig any deeper.

  "Kotomine Shirou thought to himself, 'I hope this doesn't expose anything.'"

  [The se shifted to the night, as all the Masters who had yet to perform their summoning rituals prepared to summon their Servants.]

  [Sisigou sat alone in a cemetery, the summoning array meticulously carved into the ground before him.]

  [Meanwhile, within Yggdmillennia Castle, the four remaining Bck Masters prepared for their own summoning rituals.]

  ["Will I mahis?" Sisigou muttered, taking a long drag from his cigarette before flig it away and beginning the intation.]

  ["Let silver and irohe essence. Let stone and the archduke of tracts be the foundation, ahe color I pay tribute to be red."]

  ["Let the winds of the four cardinal dires rise, and enclose. Let the gates of the be shut, ahe three-forked road to the kingdom rotate."]

  ["I hereby swear: Your body shall be under my and, and my fate shall be your sword."]

  ["Abiding by the summons of the Holy Grail, if you would heed this will and this reason, answer me."]

  ["I am the one who embodies all the good in the world. I am the one who ys bare all the evils of the world."]

  ["You, the seven heavens bound by three great words, e forth from the circle of straint, O Guardian of the Scales!"]

  [At that same moment in Yggdmillennia Castle, four Servants appeared in respoo the summoning of the Bck Masters.]

  [They were Siegfried, Astolfo, Chiron, and Fraein.]

  [In unison, the four Servants decred, "We are the Bck Servants, called forth by your summons. Our fates are now iwined with those of the Yggdmillennia . Our swords shall be your swords."]

  ["My King," Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia said, bowing respectfully to Vd III, the Bck Lancer. "These are the Servants we have summoned uhe banner of Bck, your loyal subordinates."]

  [The Grand Duke—Vd III—nodded in approval. He stood tall and spoke with authority. "All who have gathered here to pursue the Holy Grail, our first goal is clear: victory for the Bck Fa."]

  [The video abruptly paused.]

  ---

  [Question: Who is the Servant summoned by the Red Master, Sisigou Kairi?]

  [A: Artoria; B: Mordred; C: Gawain.]

  The quick response phase began immediately.

  In both the Bck Fa's camp and among the group members, everyone began to analyze the question.

  Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia, his fellow Bck Masters, Kotomine Shirou, and Sisigou Kairi himself all pohe obvious clue: the summoning relic. The fragment of the Round Table clearly poio one of the Knights of the Round Table, but whie?

  And another curiosity emerged among those unfamiliar with the name—who was Artoria?

  Chihiro: "The answer is B—Mordred."

  [Ding! gratutions to Chihiro for answering correctly and earning 3 Saint Quartz.]

  [The members of the Bck Fa fell silent.]

  Kotomine Shirou: "..."

  Sisigou Kairi: "..."

  Tohsaka Rin: "Wow, Chihiro, your rea time is gettier aer."

  Waver: "You didn't eveate to think it through."

  Chihiro: "A good Master anticipates the questions before they're even asked. That's reparation looks like."

  Waver and Rin: "Alright, show-off."

  Rebellious Knight: "Huh? Me?"

  Rebellious Knight: "But ugh, how dare they use fragments of the Round Table to summohat's disgusting."

  Kayh: "This questio almost too easy."

  Tohsaka Tokiomi: "It was clearly designed with the newers in mind. But in the end, an old group member swooped in to take the reward."

  The members of the Apocrypha world were left dumbfounded.

  Those unfamiliar with the group's dynamics began to think, "Are these old members all geniuses or something?"

  ---

  [The video resumed.]

  [Sisigou stared at the swirling aura within the summoning circle. His expression faltered slightly as the figure before him took shape.]

  [The summoned knight stood a set of imposing horned armor and carried a longsword that shimmered uhe moonlight. However, there was something peculiar, this knight's stature was smaller than Sisigou expected. She didn't even reach his .]

  [For a moment, Sisigou couldn't identify the knight standing before him.]

  [Sisigou: "Uh… Who are you?"]

  [The armored figure reached up and removed her helmet, revealing a bold, fident face that could only belong to someoh an unruly nature.]

  ["I am Mordred," she decred, her tone sharp and impatient. "The one and only legitimate heir to King Arthur, Artoria Pendragon."]

  [She raised her proudly. "Now, tell me—are you my Master?"]

  [Despite her diminutive frame and feminiures, Mordred's tone carried an undeniable arrogance. She made no attempt to disguise her pt.]

  [As if to t her rebellious demeanor, Mordred stripped off her armor, revealing an outfit that was nothing short of sdalous in its ck of ce.]

  Artoria: "Mordred I've told you before, stop wearing clothes like that."

  Rebellious Knight: "Hmph, Father, you're just too old-fashioned."

  Sisigou Kairi: "Wait, Father? This Artoria is… King Arthur?"

  Artoria: "Yes, that is correct."

  Sisigou Kairi: "But shouldn't King Arthur's name be Arthur?"

  Artoria: "Arthur is merely a pseudonym. My true name is Artoria Pendragon."

  Sisigou Kairi: "...Hang on. That voice… are you a woman?"

  Artoria: "Yes."

  Sisigou stared, clearly struggling to process this revetion. "...I'm going to need a moment to sort this out."

  Tohsaka Rin: "Wait… If King Arthur is a woman, does that mean Man is… a man?"

  Rebellious Knight: "Ridiculous! My mother is very much a woman."

  Kayh: "If that's the case, how were you even born?"

  Rebellious Knight: "Shut it! What's it to you, anyway? Why so many questions?"

  Darnic: "My apologies for their rudeness."

  [Sisigou sighed aended a hand to Mordred. "I am Sisigou Kairi, your Master. I'll be relying on you."]

  [Mordred didn't take his hand. Instead, she turned her ba him, leaving him to awkwardly pull his hand bad rub it on his coat.]

  ["Summoning me in a graveyard? Are you some kind of neancer?" Mordred asked, gng disdainfully at the tombstones surrounding them.]

  [Sisigou smirked. "I've been surrounded by corpses since I was a kid. So, yeah, you could say that."]

  [He then scratched his thoughtfully. "Still, I didn't expect Mordred to be… a woman."]

  ["SWOOSH!!!"]

  [Mordred's sword shot toward his throat in an instant, stopping just short of the skin. Her expression was fierce.]

  ["Say that again, and I won't hold baext time."]

  ["…Got it. Won't happen again," Sisigou replied quickly, raising his hands in mock surrender.]

  ["Good," Mordred said, spinning away. She stepped over to the summoning circle and gred at the holy relic still sitting there, a fragment of the Round Table.]

  [With a scoff, Mordred raised her boot and stomped down on the fragment of the Round Table, shattering it to pieces.]

  [Sisigou winced slightly. "What a waste."]

  ["Hmph," Mordred sneered. "Using something like this to summon a rebellious knight like me? That's just rude."]

  [The se shifted to the m, with Sisigou arriving at a church for a scheduled meeting. Inside, a white-haired priest k in silent prayer. It was Kotomine Shirou.]

  [Sisigou stepped forward fidently, his voice breaking the solemn atmosphere. "This is the meeting pce we agreed ht? So you must be the one who summoned me here."]

  [Kotomine Shirou stood, turned with a serene smile, and bowed politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Shirou Kotomihe supervisor for this operation."]

  [Sisigou waved a hand dismissively. "I'm Sisigou Kairi. I'll skip the b introdus if you don't mind." He plopped himself down on one of the benches nearby.]

  [Kotomine Shirou's gaze flickered briefly. "I see. Is your Servant nearby?"]

  [Before Sisigou could reply, Mordred materialized, fully armored and wearing her helmet. She stood at Sisigou's side like a protective guard dog.]

  [Sisigou raised an eyebrow. "What's with the armor?"]

  [Mordred she air, her voice muffled by the helmet. "It smells awful here."]

  [Kotomine Shirou didn't seem fazed. He spoke gently, "If that's the case, I believe it's time for my own panion to join us."]

  [The video abruptly paused.]

  ---

  [Question: Who is the Servant summoned by Kotomine Shirou?]

  [A: Semiramis; B: Karna; C: Achilles.]

  Eveeran group members like Waver were momentarily stumped by the question. While the group khe figurations of the Red and Bck Fas, they weren't privy to the details of who summoned whom.]

  Tohsaka Rin: "I'll go with B—Karna!"

  [Ding! Tohsaka Rin answered incorrectly. 1 Saint Quartz has beeed.]

  Tohsaka Rin: "What? No way!"

  She frowned, frustrated. She had assumed that someone as posed as Kotomine Shirou would summon the most powerful figure avaible.

  Chihiro: "The answer is A—Semiramis."

  [Ding! gratutions to Chihiro for answering correctly. You have earned 3 Saint Quartz.] (T/N: Chihiro blitzing lmao)

  Waver: "How do you always answer so fast?"

  Chihiro: "A good Master always stays prepared. Anticipating the system's questions is just part of the strategy."

  Waver: "Show-off."

  Sisigou Kairi: "These quizzes really aren't fair to us new folks, huh?"

  Kotomine Shirou: "Adaptation takes time, but I'm sure we'll catch up."