Astolfo encountered an unprecedented crisis.
More than a dozen black, hard rafters emerged from the ground and pierced into the aortas of his body. If one of them hit Astolfo, he would be seriously injured. If more were hit... the black rider would probably be eliminated.
These black and hard rafters are naturally the treasure of the black berserker Vlad III, the "King of Death". The reason is undoubtedly that Astolfo angered the black leader.
After sending Sieg to a safe place, Astolfo returned to Mirenia on his Hippogriff.
As he had the Hippogriff, Astolfo was much faster than the other servants. He returned to the castle before Siegfried and Chiron and the others who went to support him returned.
It must be said that the thinking circuit of a being whose rationality evaporated was very strange. Seeing that the patrolling robot guards did not come up to catch him, he thought that everything was fine, so he returned to his room and prepared to go to bed.
Unexpectedly, Master Serenike was waiting in the room and was caught red-handed.
Serenike, who was filled with rage and had nowhere to vent, ignored Astolfo's explanation and tried all kinds of methods, such as restraints, curses, and various torture instruments. She used everything she could, completely forgetting that Astolfo had A-level anti-magic power, and almost none of these methods were useful.
After a lot of trouble, Astolfo was tied into a strange shape, and the servants who were out also returned to the castle.
Upon learning that Astolfo had returned, Danic immediately called a meeting of all members. The topic of the meeting was naturally Astolfo's elopement with the android Sieg.
At the beginning, neither Danik nor Vlad III took action without explanation like Serenike did. They gave Astolfo the opportunity to explain and defend himself.
Astolfo did not hide anything and told the whole process, including how he found the person in the corridor and how he led the person to escape. Of course, the help provided by Chiron and Shinji was omitted. Even if he was not rational, his emotions would not allow Astolfo to betray his friend, which made the two accomplices secretly relieved and also a little moved.
Although given their importance on the black side, it wouldn't matter even if they were exposed, but a scolding is inevitable, which might affect their respective images in the Master's mind. This is something that the two Servants who are bent on having a good relationship with the Master cannot tolerate.
After asking about what happened, the next thing to do was to ask where Astolfo had been sent. Before asking, Danic kindly explained to Astolfo and others about Avisbronn's Noble Phantasm, the Heart of the Crown, and the concept of the "Heart of the Hearth", hoping that Astolfo would tell the truth and bring the person back to the throne, so that he could give him some insignificant punishment and the matter would be over, which would make everyone happy - as a master who used political means to ascend to the throne, Danic was very familiar with this.
However, Astolfo ignored Danic's good intentions and just said he didn't know, which made Serenike, the Master, very angry.
If you don't have the face you are given, then you don't want your face anymore.
Serenikai was so angry that she stomped on Astolfo's face several times with her leather boots. Seeing that Astolfo did not react, she directly revealed the Command Seal and prepared to issue a compulsory order.
Unexpectedly, Astolfo was not afraid. Instead, he smiled happily and said, "I knew this trick would happen, so I just sent him out of the territory instead of sending him to a specific place. In this way, I don't know where he will go, and I won't get an answer even if I use the Command Spell - Oh, it's so refreshing, am I smart?"
This attitude of not only not reflecting on oneself, but being complacent instead, made everyone feel that he deserved a beating. Serenika was furious, but before she could vent her anger, a magical power darker than the night swept across the entire King's Palace, not only making the environment depressing, but also bringing black rafters.
"The King of Punishment!!!"
Vlad III took action, and Astolfo's attitude completely angered the tyrant.
For Vlad III, Astolfo's act of letting the "hearth" go meant betrayal, and he could not tolerate such betrayal either in life or in death. If it were not for Danik's persuasion, he would have stabbed Astolfo as soon as he saw him.
At first, Astolfo's cooperative attitude eased Vlad III's anger a little, and he was planning to give him a chance. However, there was a twist later, which directly triggered Vlad III's rage.
When a tyrant gets angry, blood will inevitably be shed.
Vlad III released the treasure, and he wanted to use the blood of the traitors to establish an iron rule and wash away his anger.
The moment the magic swept over, Astolfo sensed the deadly danger. If his hands and feet were not tied, he would still have a chance to escape - the restraints on his body were not a big deal and he could break free at any time, but it would take a little time to break free, which was enough time for the rafters to pierce his body.
No, I'm going to die. Sieg, you must live happily, but it's a pity that I can't see it.
Astolfo, who foresaw the end, closed his eyes and waited for death to come. At the last moment of his life, he had no regrets in his heart, only prayers and regrets.
He is such a pure person, even if he is naive or out of touch, he has never changed.
The expected pain did not come. A second before the rafter hit him, another magical power came first and knocked Astolfo away at the critical moment. This magical power was completely opposite to the madness and darkness of Vlad III. The freshness and vitality in the magic power made people feel as if they were in a lush primeval forest.
This trait belongs to only one Servant—the Black Archer, the Great Sage Chiron.
As early as when Astolfo was feeling complacent, Chiron realized that something was wrong, and he immediately made a decisive move and used his "divine wisdom" to prepare to release "magic power", and finally saved Astolfo from danger.
"Please calm your wrath, Grand Duke."
Almost at the same time as he tried to rescue people, Chiron took two steps forward and saluted respectfully to Vlad III, without forgetting to keep an eye on Astolfo out of the corner of his eyes.
Respectful admonition is to eliminate Vlad III's anger, and peripheral vision is to prevent the Grand Duke from losing control. This is the life experience that Chiron has accumulated over the long years.
Chiron's approach was naturally correct, but it was a pity that he did not take into account the strength of both sides.
A strange blood color appeared on Vlad III's pale face, and a magical power more terrifying than before enveloped the entire kingdom.
The next second, more rafters protruded from under the carpet. A rough count showed that there were no less than fifty of them.
Most of it is aimed at Chiron, and a small part is aimed at Astolfo!