"Hey, Lil' Mo... what are you guys even doing?"
"Move, Mr. Dracula! I'm busy slashing people!!"
Mordred shoved his hand off and charged back into the fray.
Dracula lifted his head, glancing at Saber charging in with her holy sword, and the Black Knight wielding a tile like a weapon.
He sighed.
"You call that slashing people? Looks more like you're the one being slashed..."
"As long as I land one blow—it counts as me slashing them!!"
With a bold yell, Mordred launched herself back into battle, swords and fists flying once more.
Dracula's eyes scanned the field—he noticed Kiritsugu and Maiya hiding in the shadows, spotted Archer Arash with bow drawn on a distant rooftop, and even Emiya's stoic figure preparing to strike.
He leaned toward Mordred and muttered:
"Oi, Lil' Mo... keep your eyes open. This battlefield's full of traps waiting to bite ya."
Mordred turned around with a confused grunt.
"Huh?"
In that split second, Kiritsugu Emiya issued a low command through the communicator.
[Arash, now!]
[Roger that!!]
Arash's hands moved like phantoms, launching a storm of arrows that darkened the sky, all raining down toward Mordred from two kilometers away.
As if guided by a shared instinct, Archer EMIYA fired a projected Fake Spiral Sword at the same moment, the crimson beam of magical energy soaring toward Berserker's exposed back.
"RAAAAGHH!!"
Berserker's savage instinct—sharpened by endless combat—saved his life. He spun swiftly, and with the torque of that spin, hurled the concrete slab he held like a javelin.
BOOM!!
EMIYA's projection struck the airborne slab, erupting in a fierce explosion mid-air.
Shrouded by the rising smoke, Kariya Matou whispered from a nearby alley:
[Berserker, return.]
Berserker glanced once at Saber with hollow eyes before silently vanishing into spirit form.
[Saber, take Iris and go!]
Kiritsugu's voice rang out again.
[But—!]
Saber instinctively resisted.
[No buts. Her safety comes first—get her out of here!]
[Understood…]
Saber gave one last glance toward Mordred—still struggling under the rain of arrows—then scooped up Irisviel and vanished into the night.
Mordred knocked away a few arrows, blinking in disbelief.
"Huh? They stopped?"
She placed her hands on her hips smugly. "Tch. Weak arrows. That all they got?"
"Yeah, real weak," a lazy voice chimed in.
Dracula casually plucked a broken arrowhead from his hair and dropped it to the ground. The barrage had been aimed at Mordred… but thanks to her flailing swordplay, most of them had been redirected toward his head.
Good thing his skull was basically magical steel.
"Wait a minute… Where the hell's Artoria?!" Mordred suddenly realized her "dear father" was gone. She roared into the night, "Artoria! Come out and fight me like you always do! Don't think stabbing me once lets you disappear scot-free!"
Dracula reached out and flicked her helmet with a flat bonk.
"Alright, alright, she's gone. Stop yelling, will ya? You'll wake the neighbors. Some of us have real jobs in the morning."
Mordred rubbed her head, speechless. Even with her usual dim wit, she knew she couldn't win a fight against this slouching man with a guitar.
"Hahaha! What a show that was!" Iskandar boomed with laughter from atop his war chariot. "But you're not a participant, so I'll leave it at that for tonight. Farewell, Dracula!"
"Later, red mane," Dracula waved lazily.
"ALALALALALALI~!!"
With thunder and laughter, the King of Conquerors roared skyward.
Dracula turned to his group. "Alright, time to go home. Kirie, Jeanne, grab Nero and Liz."
"Dracula-sama, what about you?" Kirie asked, carrying the unconscious Elizabeth.
"You go on ahead. I've got someone to introduce to Little Mo."
"Then we'll see you later, Sir Dracula." Jeanne gracefully princess-carried Nero as she and Kirie headed back toward Castlevania.
Dracula, meanwhile, dragged a very unwilling Mordred through the ruined harbor to a narrow alley—where a dark figure awaited.
"Well, well, a face-to-face meet at last…" Dracula greeted. "Evening, Kariya."
"You're… the one from that night?" Matou Kariya stared in awe before bowing with gratitude. "You saved Sakura… kept her from that monster. Thank you."
"No need to thank me," Dracula replied with a shrug. "Saving lolis is just common courtesy. Honestly, I hadn't planned on meeting you. But it seems our Servants had a bit of a… misunderstanding. So I figured I'd help smooth things over."
He turned and grabbed Mordred by the scruff of her armor, holding her up like a misbehaving puppy.
"Mo, meet the guy. Be nice."
At the same time, Kariya summoned the materialized form of his Servant—Berserker.
The bloodthirsty warrior stood eerily calm under his Master's control… and perhaps, under Dracula's intimidating presence.
Dracula gently nudged Mordred forward.
"C'mon, shake hands. Berserker didn't mean it. He's, uh… you know, brain-challenged. We must be kind to the less fortunate."
Kariya added softly, "Berserker."
Surprisingly, the crazed knight lowered his head slightly—and stretched out a massive hand.
Mordred snorted, crossing her arms and turning away.
"Mo." Dracula's voice turned low and sharp.
Mordred flinched. Reluctantly, she removed her helmet and tucked it under her arm. With an exaggerated sigh, she reached out her hand.
"Hmph. Only because Dracula-sama told me to. Just this once—I'll forgive you."
…She didn't realize, however, that removing her helmet had exposed her face.
And that was all it took.
The moment Berserker laid eyes on her, something inside him snapped.
WHACK!!
Without warning, he slapped her so hard she went flying, her body crashing head-first into a nearby utility pole. The steel cracked from the impact.
"Urgh… damn it…" Mordred groaned, holding the reddening side of her face. Her eyes were misty with tears. "Lancelot! Even my dad never hit me like that!!"
Snarling in fury, she tore the utility pole from the ground and charged.
Across from her, Berserker growled, full of hate: "…Arthurrrrrr!!"
And once again, the two fell into a chaotic brawl.
Kariya raised his hands helplessly, turning to Dracula.
"Sir… this isn't my fault, you know."
After a moment of thought, he declared with conviction,
"This is all Tokiomi's fault! Hmph!!"
Meanwhile, Dracula, observing the fierce battle in the distance, let out a long sigh.
"What a pain…"