Aozaki Aoko Case File

Since Kiritsugu Emiya and his assistant decided to play dead, the pressure shifted to the next group of bystanders.

Just kidding.

At this moment, Aoko and Artoria, floating in the sky, didn't feel any pressure at all. After receiving intel from their informant, the two briefly discussed the situation and immediately decided to head to the scene and join the excitement.

Upon arrival, Aoko exclaimed in surprise. The Ax King of Uruk versus the Boxing Champion of Israel?! Had this Holy Grail War already escalated to such an explosive level? She decided to remain on the battlefield's perimeter to observe the fight and test Solomon's abilities.

However, since the Conqueror King had already called them out, there was no point in lingering in the sky. After all, neither Aoko nor Artoria had made any effort to hide their presence earlier.

 If the others hadn't noticed them, it was entirely due to their lack of perception.

"Let's go, Saber. It's time to see what these people are capable of."

Aoko's tone was calm, but Artoria, with her heightened intuition, could sense that her Master's sister was eager to make an entrance—likely waiting for this opportunity for quite some time.

Artoria gripped her holy sword with one hand, nodded to Aoko, and lightly spurred her steed, Dun Stallion, forward, charging through the winds.

Aoko briefly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her bright crimson hair emitted a faint glow. Her presence as a Magician now radiated unmistakably.

The unusual scene in the sky caught everyone's attention on the battlefield. Both Masters and Servants instinctively looked upward.

There, a woman riding a majestic white horse appeared. She was clad in silver armor, wearing a crown, and holding a gleaming holy sword. Her golden hair flowed behind her in the wind.

When she reached a distance roughly equal to the other Servants, the knight tugged on the reins, and the white steed hovered mid-air.

The female knight made no effort to hide her refined appearance, but her emerald eyes were cold and impartial as they scanned everyone present. Her cloak flapped in the night wind, and the holy sword in her hand glowed with an awe-inspiring, chilling light.

Though she was a woman, no one dared to underestimate her—not even the arrogant Heroic King, Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh silently elevated his Vimana to a position slightly above the female knight, scrutinizing her with calculating eyes, as if plotting his next move.

"Hey, Knight! You've been watching for quite some time. Why not announce your name?"

The one to break the silence was, unsurprisingly, the boisterous Conqueror King, Iskandar. His eyes sparkled as he looked at this extraordinary newcomer, eagerly inquiring about her identity.

"I am the Eternal King of Britain," the female knight declared. Her voice wasn't loud, yet somehow everyone present could hear her. "Artoria Pendragon."

"Oh? Did you say you're the King of Britain? You mean that King Arthur?"

Iskandar raised his eyebrows exaggeratedly, clearly intrigued by Artoria's claim.

"I'm astonished! I never imagined the legendary King of Knights would turn out to be such a beautiful woman. That's completely different from the stories!"

Artoria looked at Iskandar. Though she didn't immediately rebut his casual remarks, her gaze grew colder and more severe.

Poor Waver Velvet, who had finally begun to recover, once again found himself embarrassed by his Servant.

"R-Rider! Why are you always spouting nonsense? Aren't you just making more enemies for yourself?! And what's with all your talk about conquering the world earlier? Now you're provoking that new Servant?!"

Waver weakly protested, his voice tinged with helplessness. His forehead now sported a swollen lump from earlier, making his already frazzled appearance look comical.

"Haha! Hahahahaha!"

Iskandar burst into hearty laughter, ignoring his Master's complaints. Instead, he clapped Waver on the back, nearly knocking him out.

"I don't think I'm provoking her," Iskandar said cheerfully. "Besides, you should learn from your professor. Look at him—he's keeping his composure perfectly. That's what you'd expect from a monarch of the Clock Tower, no?"

Iskandar was partially mistaken. The only reason Kayneth Archibald didn't appear flustered wasn't because of composure or grace. It was because he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of his old colleague, Marisbury Animusphere.

More importantly, Kayneth had just spotted a familiar face.

At that moment, Aoko Aozaki descended from the sky, landing beside Artoria. The Command Seals on her hand were strikingly vivid—she made no effort to conceal them, openly declaring herself as the Master of the knight beside her.

Aoko wore a white blouse similar to a formal shirt, paired with a black pleated skirt and a ribbon tie. Her long, slender legs were wrapped in matte black stockings, and she wore slim short-heeled boots.

A modern observer might have noticed that Aoko's outfit closely resembled the one worn by Akiha Tohno in Tsukihime R, except Aoko's figure was far superior, and her skirt was shorter, accentuating her graceful form.

Her skirt billowed in the wind, but no matter how hard anyone tried, they couldn't see beneath it—Aoko had preemptively concealed it with an illusion spell, so all anyone could see was pitch blackness.

"Long time no see, Lord El-Melloi," Aoko greeted calmly. Then, turning toward Marisbury Animusphere, she added, "And greetings to you, Lord Animusphere. I've long admired the fame of the Department of Astromancy."

Kayneth wasn't particularly surprised that Aoko had joined the Holy Grail War. After all, her domain was already in Japan—why wouldn't a Magician like her show up when a large-scale event like this was occurring?

"Well, well, this is…"

Feigning astonishment, Aoko widened her eyes dramatically and looked toward Marisbury and his Caster. "Should I say, as expected of the famed Department of Astromancy? To summon the King of Magecraft Solomon himself... truly impressive!"

Now it was Marisbury's turn to break into a cold sweat.

No matter how he analyzed it, he couldn't comprehend why the Newest Magician, who had supposedly achieved the feat of reaching the Root, would show up to compete with lower-ranked Magi for the Holy Grail. It made no sense!

 And yet, not only had Aoko immediately recognized Solomon, but she had also exposed his identity publicly, which would undoubtedly complicate the construction of his Grand Temple.