He was remarkably gentle toward his own allies, occasionally revealing a naive and humorous side.
Yet, in the eyes of strangers, Lord Sebastian was without a doubt a Devil worthy of the Lucifer name.
“Are you really planning to bring King Arthur over to your side?” Kuroka asked.
Sebastian did not bother hiding his intentions.
“Yes.” He swirled his glass, staring at his reflection on the surface of the drink, a slow smile creeping onto his face.
“My Knight piece is still vacant.
If I take King Arthur as my servant, wouldn’t she become the ultimate Knight?”
After all, she was the legendary King of Knights.
“You who bind the seven days of the three grand incantations, coming from the wheel of restraint, guardian of the balance…”
Sebastian pointed his right hand—engraved with Command Spells—toward the magic circle before him.
The Command Spells and the magic circle burst into a blinding radiance.
Crouching nearby, Kuroka watched the dazzling light intently.
This time, Sebastian chose not to perform the summoning in the basement.
Instead, he used the open arena where he had previously sparred with Karna, fearing his new summon might attack the moment she appeared.
“Looks like it worked,” Sebastian murmured.
As the light peaked, a faint silhouette emerged within the glow.
As the radiance faded, a noble young woman appeared, leaning on a scabbard with one hand and clad in blue-and-white conceptual armor.
Golden hair framed her face, catching the light like a halo, and her eyes opened to reveal pupils as clear as the azure sky.
Her gaze locked onto Sebastian instantly.
“Servant, Saber—”
Artoria intended to follow protocol and introduce herself to her new Master for the upcoming week.
But as the haze of the summoning cleared, a sudden realization struck her.
The aura radiating from this man felt just like Karna’s.
He was a Devil.
She glanced toward the corner and spotted Kuroka.
Another Devil.
Had the original Master holding the Command Spells already been slain by these monsters?
Without hesitation, Artoria drew her weapon.
Her invisible blade, wrapped in the Invisible Air: Barrier of the Wind King, pointed directly at Sebastian’s throat.
Kuroka immediately tensed, preparing to step in, but Sebastian raised a hand to hold her back.
“What’s wrong, Arthur?
Can’t accept a Devil as your Master?”
“Isn’t that obvious?” Artoria replied without a trace of hesitation.
As the wielder of the Holy Sword, she held no love for Devils, even if she wasn’t fanatically devoted to the Angel faction.
Yet Sebastian had summoned her anyway.
“Are you really going to—”
Before he could finish, Artoria launched a strike.
Sebastian was already prepared; he instantly activated his Devil Trigger and drew Yamato to parry the blow.
Clang!
Sparks flew as the air ignited, raising the temperature in the arena by several degrees.
Sebastian exerted force through his blade, looking through the heat waves at Artoria, who met his push with equal strength.
Bound to Sebastian as her Master, her physical attributes were even more overwhelming than Karna’s, almost matching Sebastian’s own boosted power.
As they locked blades, Sebastian spoke calmly.
“You entered the Holy Grail War to obtain the Grail and save your kingdom, right?
If that’s the case, having a Devil as your Master doesn’t break any rules.
It won’t hinder your victory—in fact, it gives your nation its best chance at survival.
The only price is spending a single week working alongside a Devil you despise.
Can’t you endure even that?”
He stared straight into her eyes, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
“This is a once-in-a-century opportunity.
If you throw this away, you won’t get another chance.
Or are you really willing to abandon the future of your entire country just to avoid a little personal discomfort, Arthur?”
Had Sebastian attacked her character, Artoria would have ignored the provocation entirely.
But bringing up Britain changed everything.
Sebastian knew her weakness well.
If he said this to Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes would simply laugh and call him a mongrel.
If he said it to Iskandar, the Conqueror King would scoff at the childish manipulation.
But with Artoria, every word landed with surgical precision.
“I thought you were willing to sacrifice anything for Britain,” Sebastian added, fueling her inner turmoil.
“Enduring seven days with me should be a trivial sacrifice for that goal.
But it seems the noble tales about you were mere exaggerations.
How tragic that Britain’s last hope dies because of your pride.”
He felt the pressure against his blade lighten.
Capitalizing on the moment, Sebastian shoved her back with a powerful sweep and sheathed Yamato.
Artoria stumbled back a few paces, refraining from attacking again.
Sebastian extended an open hand.
“To be honest, I’m not good at speechmaking or spouting flowery words.
So I’ll be direct with you.” His expression turned serious, his gaze cold and focused.
“I know you don’t trust me, and I know I’ll probably do things that clash with your morals.
That’s why I prepared for the worst-case scenario from the very beginning.”
He pulled back his right sleeve, revealing thirty-three Command Spells densely covering his arm.
Artoria’s eyes widened in shock.
“I know you possess high Magic Resistance,” Sebastian continued.
“You can resist one Command Spell, maybe even two.
But if I stack five or ten at once, you will be forced to obey, no matter how much you hate it.
But I don’t want that.”
Artoria’s heart, which had sunk to the depths of despair, rose back up at his words.
Looking into his eyes, she saw only stark honesty.
“We both want to win this Holy Grail War,” Sebastian said calmly.
“Even if we are only temporary allies for seven days, I refuse to treat a comrade-in-arms like a puppet.”
A dark magic circle materialized in his palm.
“So, choose.
If you truly cannot accept this, say ‘kill me’ right now.
I will use these Command Spells to drain your remaining power to fuel my own strength.
But if you accept, I won’t force you into anything against your will.
We will inevitably disagree, and when we do, we can settle it with a duel.
Winner takes all.”
He extended his hand toward her, offering a Devil’s Pact.
Kuroka recognized the magic circle immediately—it was the same formal contract Sebastian had used to recruit her.
As Merlin’s former apprentice, Artoria recognized the spell’s binding nature.
Devils carried a terrible reputation, but they possessed one absolute rule: they never broke a signed contract.
To a Devil, a contract was absolute law.
Artoria bit her lip.
If this involved only her pride, she would have chosen death.
But the fate of Britain hung in the balance.
Her kingdom’s fall was a failure she carried on her shoulders.
If joining hands with a Devil was the cost to rewrite that tragedy…
She took a deep breath, stepped forward, and placed her hand over the dark magic circle.
“Even if it means aligning with a Devil…
I accept.”
The circle split in two, sinking into both of their bodies to seal the bond.
Watching from the side, Kuroka saw Sebastian flash a sharp smile as he offered a handshake.
“For the next seven days, I look forward to working with you.”
Flushed with humiliation, the noble knight swallowed her pride, forced a rigid smile, and squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth.
“Likewise.”
Contract established.
Target: Obtain Artoria’s recognition (Incomplete)
“Now that you have summoned another Heroic Spirit, the Holy Grail War is officially underway, isn’t it?” Grayfia asked, standing in the meeting hall of the Einzbern manor.
Her eyes lingered on Artoria, sensing an aura as formidable as Karna’s.
The entire group had assembled: Artoria, Karna, and Irisviel.
Sebastian surveyed his allies before letting out a long breath.
“The Holy Grail War lasts seven days, and today is day two.
All Masters have likely finished their summonings.
We have passed the initial setup phase.”
He looked at everyone gravely.
“Now, it’s time I reveal my true motive for entering this war.”
The room grew quiet as everyone focused their attention on him, even Artoria.
Though she still felt out of place surrounded by Devils, the contract bound her as an ally, and she was obligated to hear his strategy.
“First, regarding the Holy Grail itself,” Sebastian began.
“The Einzbern family seeks to achieve the Third Magic.
While I have no interest in most of its applications, I am after one specific side effect: infinite magic power.
That is my personal goal.”
As a direct descendant of the original Lucifer, Sebastian’s lack of demonic magic was no secret.
His magic capacity barely reached the level of a Middle-Class Devil.
Without utilizing his transformation, he relied almost entirely on raw physical combat, much like Sairaorg Bael.
While his physical prowess was formidable, solving his magic deficiency remained a priority.
Sebastian then pulled a profile from the stack of Master intelligence Grayfia had gathered and placed it in the center of the table.
It detailed the Lord of the Department of Astrology, Marisbury Animusphere.
“Setting my personal goal aside,” Sebastian continued, his tone turning cold, “my absolute priority for this war is zero casualties among our group.
But beyond that, our primary tactical objective is to eliminate this man and knock him out of the war completely.”