"It's certainly a lively night, Rider."
Observing through his familiar, Waver Velvet had begun to grow accustomed to this chaotic new reality. "The battle between Lancer and Caster is still raging, and now Saber and Assassin have clashed once again."
These Heroic Spirits were far more restless than the legends he had studied in the Clock Tower.
"Rider, should we make a move?"
Waver turned to his Servant, Lelouch vi Britannia. Finding that the black-clad man hadn't immediately responded, Waver felt a flicker of confusion. Since realizing just how reliable Rider truly was, Waver had stopped trying to assert his own clumsy plans, preferring to act as a support for Lelouch's strategic genius.
"If we merely wish to observe, the familiar you've deployed is more than sufficient," Lelouch replied, holding a teacup with effortless elegance. He glanced at Waver, his violet eyes sharp. "However, if you wish to actively participate in this war, you must first ensure your own safety. Reckless actions will only place our side at a disadvantage."
Waver was momentarily stunned. He scratched the back of his head, realization dawning that his Servant was leaving the choice to him. Though it might have been a trivial matter to someone like Lelouch, the gesture meant a great deal to Waver. It was a sign of respect—proof that he was being treated as a Master, not just a bystander.
He began to consider their options.
The mecha Rider piloted, the Gawain, was a weapon of mass destruction. Once engaged in combat, it would unleash large-scale devastation. Even setting aside its energy consumption, its standard machine guns could easily shred an entire street. A single shot from its uncharged Hadron Cannon could level an entire city block.
While the current battlefield where Lancer and Caster fought wasn't in the dead center of Fuyuki City, it wasn't exactly isolated either. Families lived nearby. Despite his ambitions as a Magus, Waver wasn't so cold-blooded that he would willingly sacrifice innocent lives just to see a battle.
"Let's go, Rider. We'll head toward Saber and Assassin instead," Waver decided, his voice steadier than before.
Lelouch's lips curved into a faint, satisfied smile. It didn't truly matter what Waver chose; his own plans had already accounted for every variable.
Of the seven Servants, he had already devised strategies to counter Saber, Lancer, Caster, and Assassin. Only Archer and Berserker remained enigmas.
"We must stir the situation... at the very least, we need to draw out Archer and Berserker."
The fact that they remained hidden was the greatest instability in the war. Every other faction was already entangled, lashing out at one another in a predictable cycle of violence. A strategist like Lelouch, who had no personal stakes and had already successfully baited two other families, could afford to wait—as long as no traces were left behind.
His focus now was entirely on those two missing pieces of the puzzle.
...
Clang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of steel meeting steel rang through the night as Saber and Assassin continued their relentless duel.
"Dragon Nest Flash!"
Assassin unleashed a flurry of rapid, erratic strikes with his broken blade, but Saber parried every one with disciplined precision. This time, she clearly held the advantage.
"For an Assassin, you are remarkably strong," Saber said, her voice filled with honest respect.
To face her in open combat using the weakest class, relying solely on superior swordsmanship and agility... it was a feat few Heroic Spirits could achieve.
Your swordsmanship... it's lethal, Saber thought. Every move is designed to kill. A single opening would be fatal.
Yet, with his sword shattered, the threat was diminished. Against a fully focused Saber, a broken blade was little more than a liability. No matter how great the swordsman, a compromised weapon was a fatal flaw in a duel of this magnitude. She didn't know how his blade had broken, but she wasn't about to hold back out of some misplaced sense of mercy.
"Hah!"
Saber swung her invisible blade, the wind pressure shrieking as it sliced through the air. Assassin's eyes narrowed, his body twisting mid-air with impossible grace.
"Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu: Ryukansen—Dragon Coil Flash!"
He avoided the direct hit by a hair's breadth, using the momentum of his leap to drive the broken tip of his sword toward Saber's head.
Bang!
Saber didn't even use her sword to block. She raised her gauntleted hand, catching the strike and knocking it aside with a dull metallic thud. Assassin landed and instantly retreated, putting distance between them.
Tch... fighting her with this blade is too much, Kenshin thought, his brow slick with sweat.
Even in his past life, a broken sword hadn't stopped him from eliminating his enemies, but these were no ordinary men. These were Heroic Spirits. A single moment of hesitation would be his end. Unfortunately, Saber's arrival had been too perfectly timed; there was no chance for his Master to provide him with a replacement.
...
Across the city, the battle between Masters was equally fierce.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Clink! Clink! Clink!
Kirei Kotomine deflected a volley of bullets with his Black Keys, his movements fluid and precise. He wouldn't allow Kiritsugu Emiya another opening like the last one. That brush with death had been far too close for comfort.
"Tch."
Seeing Kirei closing the distance, Kiritsugu gritted his teeth and retreated. He knew as well as anyone that in close-quarters combat, the priest held the upper hand.
Whoosh!
Dodging a thrown Black Key, Kiritsugu raised his firearm and unleashed a rapid-fire burst, forcing Kirei into a defensive stance.
"Kiritsugu..."
Maiya's voice crackled in his earpiece. "I've found Irisviel."
Kiritsugu's heart skipped a beat. "Is she alright?"
"There were no obstacles along the path, only a simple magecraft seal. She's unharmed, but the scabbard... Avalon is gone. Kirei took it."
"I see. Get her out of there, Maiya. Be careful."
The relief of knowing Irisviel was safe was tempered by a nagging sense of unease. Something was wrong.
"You found her, didn't you?" Kirei said, his voice eerily calm as he lowered his hands.
"I expected as much. Your assistant and your wife... they are your few remaining links to this world, aren't they?"
Kiritsugu's blood ran cold. The unease he felt suddenly solidified into a sickening certainty.
"If you were to lose them both... would you finally feel pain?"
BOOM!
A massive explosion roared from the direction of the safehouse behind the priest, the firelight reflecting in his cold, dead eyes.
Kiritsugu's pupils dilated. There were no obstacles... Maiya's words rang in his head, a cruel mockery of his hopes. He should have seen it. He should have known.
His hand tightened around the grip of his gun, his knuckles white.
"Bombs..." Kirei mused. "This unconventional method of yours is indeed quite effective. In an explosion of that magnitude, unless it was you yourself, no human could survive."
Kirei watched Kiritsugu's face, searching for a crack in the mask. He wanted to see the man break. He wanted to see if the "Magus Killer" was truly as hollow as he claimed to be.
Kirei had planned this the moment Assassin brought Irisviel to him. He knew exactly how Kiritsugu would react. He knew Saber would be needed to keep Assassin occupied. He knew Kiritsugu would come for him. And he knew the only one left to rescue the "princess" would be the assistant.
He had baited the trap perfectly, and Kiritsugu had walked right into it.
"I simply wanted to know," Kirei continued, "if even the cold-blooded Magus Killer would grieve for his losses. It seems my answer is yes."
He stepped toward Kiritsugu, a shadow of a smile on his lips.
"Your heart is crying, Kiritsugu Emiya."