While the two Heroic Spirits were focused on their fight, Caster and Akira were watching several Assassins.
Even with their Presence Concealment skill, the familiars floating in the sky were monitoring them like CCTV cameras, allowing them to observe both the visible and invisible Assassins.
"Caster, can you kill them in one blow?"
"Hmm... It's possible, but the chances are fifty-fifty. Even with a surprise attack, since there's more than one of them, they have a high chance of dodging if they notice the mana bombardment. Most Servants of the Assassin class are agile, so unless they're slow, I'd say there's a 50% chance they'll survive."
Well, the goal was to reduce their numbers as much as possible, but since Assassins specialized in agility, they didn't attack recklessly.
"For now, let's leave them be. If it looks like they're about to escape, we'll have to catch them."
"In that case, I'll send Dragon Tooth Warriors to block their escape routes. It might not be very effective, but with bad luck, a few Assassins might die."
I nodded at Medea's words.
"We have Tiamat too... so we don't need to worry about assassination."
"Mhm, mhm..."
Tiamat snorted as if to say, "just trust me," but for now, we decided to watch the "movie" (the battle between Servants).
"In terms of skill, Lancer is superior, but in terms of Noble Phantasms, Artoria is stronger~"
Comparing the performance of the dual-wielding, all-out attacker Lancer and Artoria, who crushes her enemies with superior items, Lancer was more efficient. But considering Artoria's wide-range Noble Phantasm, Lancer had the advantage.
The problem was that Lancers were all unlucky, so in that sense, Artoria was better off.
Thinking about the 4th and 5th Wars, where Lancers were fated to kill themselves, the perception of the Lancer class was quite poor.
On the other hand, look at Cú Chulainn, the Lancer and Caster from Fate/Grand Order... Look at the sheer luck that allowed him to survive until the very end of the Holy Grail War. Cú Chulainn's life was so much brighter when he wasn't a Lancer.
'The fact that Cú Chulainn, the sole survivor out of seven, was a Caster is one of the reasons the unlucky Lancer class became something to be avoided...'
Well, among them were Heroic Spirits who were born with a different fate compared to the 4th and 5th War Servants, like Hector, who resisted his damned fate until the end; Scáthach, who could even put a hole in a god; Karna, who remained loyal even when his Master changed; Gilgamesh's friend, Enkidu; the adorable Gareth, and so on.
Well, Hector couldn't fight properly because of the gods, and Gareth tried to persuade Lancelot while unarmed, but he was in a battle frenzy, so I don't remember if Gareth's head was cut off or smashed by a sword.
Anyway, most of the unlucky ones were from Ulster. They all showed the spirit of a warrior, but their innate destiny was the problem.
This Lancer had NTR'd his lord's wife, and in the future, he was destined to have his current Master's wife NTR'd from him.
Well, the curse he was born with was the problem.
As the battle between the two raged on, Assassins hidden in the unseen darkness were watching.
They were not there to interfere in the fight, but merely as a means to gather information.
They were already the "eliminated" Assassin, and if they were to appear now, they would be met with wariness from the other Servants and Masters.
And if it were to be revealed that their Servant had not yet disappeared while they were under the Church's protection?
Then the Church would be unable to avoid condemnation and criticism, so hiding was the correct answer.
However, Assassin's Master was not officially known, so apart from Kiritsugu, who had gathered information, and those who knew about Assassin's Master, no one else knew.
"Hah!"
"Kuh."
Lancer hastily gripped the red spear with both hands, dropping the golden one to the ground. Artoria, noting the weapon's location at her feet, parried the red spear.
"There is no honor in a battle without a proper exchange of names, but that is some excellent swordsmanship, Saber."
"Unnecessary humility, Lancer."
『The entertainment ends there, Lancer. Do not drag this fight out any longer. The Saber there is a formidable enemy. Deal with her swiftly. I permit the use of your Noble Phantasm.』
"As you wish, my lord."
Lancer smiled, unwrapped the cloth tied around the red spear, and thrust it at Artoria's sword.
The moment Artoria's sword clashed with the red spear, the part of her Invisible Air that came into contact with the spear vanished, and Artoria's eyes widened.
'Invisible Air disappeared? No, only the part in contact with the spear is disappearing.'
She quickly parried the spear and created distance. Artoria's sword became invisible again.
'I don't know what kind of Noble Phantasm it is, but the fact that Invisible Air was nullified means I can't rule out the possibility that he has figured out my sword.'
Honestly, with the situation being such a mess, it didn't matter if the identity of her sword was revealed, but Artoria still debated whether to use her Noble Phantasm.
"So you've finally revealed it, your hidden sword..."
"......"
"I have seen through the length of your blade. I will no longer be deceived by an invisible range."
With those words, Lancer continued to thrust at her.
Now that he knew the range of Saber's sword, his attacks were textbook-perfect, aiming for a single point, and each thrust was deadly.
Artoria quickly blocked and defended against Lancer's swift spear techniques.
Every time her sword clashed with the spear, her Invisible Air was partially forced away, only to reform again in a repeating cycle.
"Wind, scatter!"
And she had no choice but to give up on Invisible Air.
She had revealed bits and pieces of it, but she still hadn't figured out the exact ability of Lancer's weapon.
Therefore, Artoria decided to use one of her Noble Phantasms without reservation.
The highly compressed air enveloping her sword turned into a long-range attack, flying towards Lancer at high speed.
A direct hit would be fatal, so Lancer might have been able to cut through the gale with his Noble Phantasm, but the size of the blast left him no choice but to evade quickly.
Immediately after he evaded, Artoria did not miss the opening and charged at Lancer. As a result, Lancer was almost fatally wounded, but he managed to block the attack by picking up the golden short spear at his feet.
"I never imagined a gale would come out of it."
"And I never thought you would remember the short spear you hid on the ground. It seems your skills are a cut above mine."
"Well, well, I never thought the day would come when I'd be praised by a nameless knight. Are you fine with showing your sword?"
"If my sword was going to be revealed by dragging this out anyway, I was planning to discard its sheath and finish you quickly... It seems I underestimated you, Lancer."
"Hmph."
And Lancer began to thrust rapidly with his two spears, putting Artoria on the defensive.
One of Artoria's Noble Phantasms would likely kill her as well if used at this range, so she couldn't use it carelessly.
The speed of the two spears' assault was tremendous, and even if Artoria focused solely on defense, there was nothing she could do about the small wounds that were gradually accumulating.
And as she grabbed the tip of the red spear to figure out its Noble Phantasm's identity.
A sharp pain shot through her, and she had to let go and immediately parry the spear with her sword.
On the other hand, the golden short spear was blocked by her armor, and Artoria was able to roughly grasp the spear's function.
"It seems to be a Noble Phantasm that nullifies magical energy."
Lancer remained silent and swung his two spears, but Artoria still couldn't figure out the ability of the golden spear.
"Saber!"
Irisviel squeezed out her mana and cast a healing spell on Saber's hand.
"Thank you, Irisviel. I am fine."
Artoria moved the hand that had grabbed the spear, confirmed that the pain was gone, and aimed her sword at Lancer.
"Not easy. You won't grant me victory, will you..."
At Lancer's words, Artoria did not waver.
She had confirmed that the red spear was a Noble Phantasm that negated magical energy, but she couldn't fight recklessly without knowing what the golden short spear's Noble Phantasm was.
'If one is an attack that ignores defense... then conversely, that golden short spear cannot ignore defense, but I can surmise that it is a Noble Phantasm that inflicts some kind of risk the moment you are wounded by it. If it weren't for his words, I would have been more wary of the red spear than both spears.'
Thanks to the hint Akira had given her, Artoria was wary of both spears, but he hadn't told her exactly what their Noble Phantasms were.
Thinking about that, Artoria might have been furious, but Akira's objective and thoughts were impossible to guess; he was nothing more than a bizarre man.
"If you were counting on the defense of that armor, then give up, Saber. Before my spear, you are as good as naked."
"Lancer, it seems you want me to discard my armor, but that golden short spear does not ignore defense. It seems that while the red spear ignores defense, the golden one does not, but it is clear that being wounded by it would be fatal."
"Hmph, to think you'd be so wary of the golden short spear. Where has the majestic knight gone?"
At Lancer's provocative words, Artoria's brow twitched slightly.
It was a blow to her pride, but if that short spear was also a Noble Phantasm, it would surely inflict fatal damage, so she couldn't discard her armor.
A single clash would result in a decisive wound, but Artoria hesitated.
'The question is whether to give the flesh and take the bone, or give the bone and take the flesh.'
If it was a curse, Caster could probably deal with it, but if it was a poison, it would be a serious problem.
He was a proud warrior, but there was no rule that said he couldn't use poison.
In war, there were instances of throwing dirt in the eyes, surprise attacks from behind, and setting traps. Even in a duel, there was no rule against using poison.
Lancer was clearly a warrior.
But considering his loyalty to his Master, it wouldn't be a problem even if he used poison.
If he would stop at nothing to prove his loyalty, then he was a dangerous Servant, and Saber had no choice but to be wary until she was certain.
'On the other hand, if it's an unremovable curse... that would be extremely dangerous.'
If that spear was a curse, and one that even Caster couldn't remove, it would be a huge problem.
He seemed to have no interest in the Grail, but Artoria did.
Her wish was to pull the sword of selection once more and change history, but she had realized that making such a wish on her own was cowardly, so she planned to consult the Knights of the Round Table.
She just wanted to ask if she was right... or if she was on the wrong path.
She had achieved victory on a hill of corpses, but it was a battle of ruin, not victory.
Almost all the Knights of the Round Table were dead, and the soldiers and knights had become a hill of corpses. Recalling her last memory of standing alone... she was in a state where she believed it was all her fault.
Therefore, she had to obtain the Grail.
Therefore, she had to avoid a situation where her chances of obtaining the Grail were reduced by an unknown curse or poison.
'I can't trust him either...'
In the end, Artoria was filled with distrust.
She did not want to receive the penalty of the golden short spear by defeating Lancer.
In an untrustworthy relationship, Artoria had no obligation to show all her cards.
Perhaps it was even more so because she was a knight, not a chess piece on his board.
=============
My Patreon includes extra chapters for almost all of my current stories: patreon.com/UltraMagnus_T