"Huh?"
At Ophis's sudden question, the boy froze—then immediately bristled with suspicion.
Even if his Magic Circuits weren't particularly gifted, he was still a competent magus.
"Why are you asking that? Don't tell me your ability is some kind of curse?"
Ophis smiled. A few threads of silver light flickered through her eyes.
"Waver Velvet?"
"Huh?"
Waver blanked again.
If you already knew, then why ask? Is her Noble Phantasm something that triggers when she calls your name?
"Mmh. Being ignored like this by a little girl is troubling even for me."
Iskandar stroked his chin, then—as if struck by inspiration—punched one fist into his other palm.
"Ah, that's it. Little girl, you seem to have quite the talent. Any interest in joining my army and conquering the world with me?"
"What the hell are you saying?!"
Waver let out a helpless sigh, but he was no longer quite so tense—after all, her parameters weren't high.
At Iskandar's question, amusement glimmered in Ophis's eyes. Her gaze drifted between Waver and Iskandar, then she shook her head.
"No. You will stand against me. Certainly."
In truth, she'd originally been planning to stab Iskandar in the back.
But she'd noticed something interesting about that Master named Waver.
If that was the case, leaving this pair alive might make the stage she'd have to face later… a lot livelier.
"Is that so? What a shame."
Iskandar actually sounded sincerely regretful as he sighed.
"Isn't 'being enemies' kind of the whole point of a Holy Grail War…?"
Waver muttered under his breath.
"Still, since you say so, I'll surely go all-out when the time comes. Once I conquer you, you'll gladly pledge yourself under my banner."
Iskandar's expression bounced right back, and he laughed with bold, sunny cheer.
"Impossible. I am undefeated."
Ophis returned a faint smile, then turned her eyes to the battlefield still flashing with spear-light and sword-glitter.
"Hahaha! Then we'll see."
Iskandar laughed it off and looked the same way, leaving Waver completely dumbfounded.
Two Heroic Spirits meet and just… chat politely and call it a day? Even if you're not going to fight, at least be wary of each other! And her stats are all E's—no plus signs, nothing! You could cut her down right now! Why are you watching the show?!
He thought it, but he didn't dare say it out loud. He could only shiver and hide behind Iskandar.
"You're not joining the battle?"
"Ha! Not yet. I, the King, must wait until all the Heroic Spirits gather—then I'll make my grand entrance and sweep them all up in one fell swoop!"
"Is that so?"
Ophis answered idly, eyes narrowing as she watched Lily revert her armor into mana and prepare to charge Lancer. She frowned slightly.
This Lily was… slow.
Twin spears, a tear mole—one spear breaking magecraft. With the knowledge granted by the Holy Grail, a quick search should've made the answer obvious. And yet even now she hadn't realized? Even if she hadn't noticed, she hadn't even considered the possibility that the other spear might be a Noble Phantasm…
Ophis was starting to doubt whether this was really the same Lily she knew—sharp and perceptive in every way.
She didn't understand it. But Lily had helped her before. That made her Ophis's friend, in Ophis's book—and Ophis wasn't the type to just drop an Enuma Elish on top of everything, nor could she sit and watch Lily blunder into Lancer's trap.
The problem was, while a Servant's body could partially simulate phasing through spirit-form tricks, it couldn't perform coordinate displacement. The distance was also too great, and there was no time to pull something out of Gate of Babylon.
In that case—
A golden ripple surfaced in Ophis's palm, making Waver press himself even closer to Iskandar.
But no attack came. What appeared in Ophis's hand was a golden plate shaped like a book.
The Tablet of Creation.
Seven in total—an epic of creation engraved in Akkadian: Enuma Elish.
They'd originally been stored in Gate of Babylon, but Inori had secretly taken them out, melted all seven down, extracted their essence, and reforged them into a single slab—one of the inheritances she left Ophis.
A vessel for Sha Naqba Imuru in the outside world.
The tablet first "read" the aura of the era, then automatically optimized itself, transforming into a hardback book with a black cover.
Ophis wasn't sure what the point was, but if it was an automatic process, she let it run.
"Oh? Can't hold back any longer, little girl?"
Iskandar had naturally noticed her movement and asked with interest.
Ophis didn't answer. She simply closed her eyes and activated Sha Naqba Imuru.
And down at the harbor, Saber in her blue skirt armor converted the armor back into mana, leaving only a blue dress.
"I see. By shedding your armor, you're turning its inability to defend into a speed advantage. I don't dislike such decisiveness, Saber… but that is not a wise move."
Ahead of her, the handsome spear-knight Diarmuid stepped back slowly, shaking his head with a smile.
"Is that so? If you want to advise me, then save it until after you've taken this strike!"
Saber answered with a confident smile. The invisible sword in her hand dipped slightly behind her—
MANA BURST
A fierce surge of force launched Saber forward in a straight, violent rush toward Lancer.
But the next instant, the world twisted.
Yellow sand washed over the ground. Saber and Lancer both seemed to glimpse, looming at their side, a magnificent wall.
It lasted only a heartbeat. Then everything snapped back as if nothing had happened.
"That just now…"
Both Saber and Lancer were seized by sharp confusion, but even so, Saber couldn't stop her charge—and Lancer could only answer it.
As Saber closed in, Lancer flicked his foot. The other short spear he'd hidden in the ground sprang back into his hand.
"…!"
The moment she saw it, Saber knew she'd been led into a trap. Before her thoughts could catch up, the Instinct-guided body moved on its own, twisting into an evasive motion.
BOOM!!!
But at that very moment—without warning—a violent explosion erupted, centered on Lancer, and the shockwave hurled Saber away.
"What in the—"
Only after rolling across the ground several times did Saber manage to steady herself, rising into a kneel. She stared in horror at the smoke and dust kicked up by the blast, even the near-miss of Lancer's trap momentarily forgotten.
That attack had shown almost no sign at all. Not until the instant it detonated did Saber sense mana.
Space-type interference?
Saber's guard spiked to its absolute peak.
This was dangerous—very dangerous.
And yet… by all logic, if the scale had been adjusted, it could've swallowed them both.
Who was it? And for what purpose?
As Saber's thoughts raced—
Lightning fell.
---
T/N: no way lancer just died like a chud