"Well, well. If it isn't Miss Kafka. Why are you standing outside the church all alone?"
Yae Miko's teasing voice drifted over.
"What choice do I have? Certain people are just too underhanded."
"Oh? Underhanded? I prefer to think of it as clever."
Covering her mouth with a hand, Yae Miko chuckled softly before glancing past Kafka.
"What's this? Silver Wolf still hasn't woken up?"
"You'd better hope she doesn't."
Kafka narrowed her eyes.
Enjoy yourself while you can.
Soon enough, you won't be smiling.
"Hehe. Then I suppose I'll have to see for myself."
Miko slipped behind Raiden Ei, looking every bit the fox borrowing a tiger's might.
"Why are you still talking? Fight already!"
"Yeah! Start fighting!"
"I stopped my boss run to watch this, and you're just standing here chatting?!"
By now, many players had gathered outside the church.
A Servant battle was too exciting to watch from a distance.
The Inazuma players, in particular, were urging them to start immediately.
Especially Kamisato Ayato, who looked visibly anxious.
It wasn't hard to understand why.
Kafka had spent every last point on Command Seals.
If they delayed any longer, everyone knew exactly how ugly things could get.
Unfortunately, Ayato couldn't say that directly.
He could only urge them to hurry.
By all logic, Yae Miko should have understood what he meant.
But today, she was acting strangely.
As if she genuinely couldn't hear the hidden meaning behind everyone's words, she continued trading barbs with Kafka.
As the two women bickered back and forth, the hearts of the Inazuma players sank.
It was over.
There was no way this victory was staying in Inazuma.
"Creak."
At last, the church doors opened.
Silver Wolf stepped out.
"Yae Miko… very impressive."
The moment she regained consciousness, Silver Wolf learned about Kafka's transaction with Valerius.
That meant all of her reward points were gone.
Even if they won, she would receive nothing.
Seeing the culprit before her only made her angrier.
"Oh? You're awake."
At the sight of Silver Wolf, Yae Miko finally moved.
She raised her hand.
"Command Seal: Reinforce me."
"Command Seal: Reinforce me."
One after another, she consumed several Command Seals.
A flood of magical energy surged through her body.
"Wait… what is Lady Guuji doing?"
"Shouldn't she be reinforcing the Shogun?"
The Inazuma players stared in disbelief.
Why was she buffing herself?
Her combat ability wasn't even remotely comparable to Ei's.
The other players were equally baffled.
What possible purpose could this serve?
"Oh dear. I reinforced the wrong person."
Pfft!
The Inazuma players collectively collapsed in despair.
At a critical moment like this, she buffed the wrong target?
"You really are something else."
Even Kafka was speechless.
If she'd known Yae Miko would make such a ridiculous mistake, she wouldn't have spent all those Command Seals.
"My dear, show her how Command Seals are supposed to be used."
"Got it."
Silver Wolf stepped forward, rolled up her sleeve, and revealed a terrifying number of Command Seals.
"Command Seal… Lancer, kill yourself."
Red light flashed.
Kafka froze as though struck by lightning.
"My dear?"
She turned around.
Silver Wolf's eyes were dull and unfocused.
Something was clearly wrong.
"Hehehe. I'm dying of laughter. So it really does work."
Yae Miko looked delighted.
The bite earlier hadn't been poison at all.
It was charm magic.
Silver Wolf had fallen under her control.
The effect wouldn't last long, but it only needed to last long enough.
Long enough to remove Kafka from the game.
"You…!"
Kafka's body moved against her will.
Her spear turned, and the point aimed at her own chest.
"My dear, Silver Wolf, wake up!"
She wanted to cry.
After everything they'd been through, Silver Wolf was being controlled at the final moment?
"Command Seal: Lancer, kill yourself."
"I…"
The spear tip edged closer and closer.
Kafka fought desperately, but everyone could see it was futile.
"Command Seal: Lancer, kill yourself."
Another red flash.
Kafka's resistance crumbled.
With one decisive thrust, she drove the spear straight into her own body.
"My god… what is happening?"
"You can force a Servant to commit suicide?"
"Silver Wolf really went all out."
The surrounding players were dumbfounded.
Silver Wolf had just turned her own ally into her execution victim.
Only Valerius covered his face in despair.
Can't anyone treat Lancers better?
Why does every Lancer end up committing suicide?
Even in this game, they couldn't escape fate.
As the spear pierced her body, Kafka felt her strength draining away.
But the pain in her heart hurt even more.
My dear…
Haven't I always treated you well?
You wanted to play your games, so I let you.
When you were in danger, I risked everything to save you.
And this is how you repay me?
She knew Silver Wolf was being controlled.
But she still felt an inexplicable surge of anger.
When they got home, Silver Wolf was absolutely getting punished.
"You just wait. I'm going to deal with you personally."
After one final glare, Kafka slowly closed her eyes.
The Stellaron Hunters were hardly saints, but they were family.
And she never imagined that one day, she'd be killed by one of her own.
After using three Command Seals in rapid succession, Silver Wolf shuddered.
Her mind cleared.
Then she stared in horror.
Kafka was impaled.
"K-Kafka?! What happened?"
She was completely confused.
Weren't they evenly matched before?
And now they had even more Command Seals.
How had this happened?
Bronya: "…"
Seele: "…"
Serval: "…"
Valerius: "Maybe think about what you just did?"
"What I just did…?"
Silver Wolf replayed the last few moments in her mind.
Her eyes widened.
"I… I killed Kafka?"
"Who else?"
"Hiss!"
As Kafka dissolved into particles of light, Silver Wolf shivered.
She could already feel the phantom sting on her backside.
When they returned home, Kafka was definitely going to settle this.
[Notice: Player Kafka has been eliminated.]
As the system announcement echoed, a golden Holy Grail descended from the sky and floated before Yae Miko and Raiden Ei.
"Can this thing actually grant wishes?"
Ei turned to Valerius, eyes full of anticipation.
"What are you thinking? You can take it home as a souvenir."
"Tch. How disappointing."
She had been excited for nothing.
Still, it was their trophy.
Taking it home as a keepsake wasn't bad.
"Miko, you did very well this time."
Ei smiled in satisfaction.
Her best friend really was reliable.
As long as Yae Miko wasn't plotting against her, she was remarkably competent.
"All right," Valerius said with a wave of his hand. "Come inside and draw your rewards."
The Holy Grail had been claimed.
Victory belonged to Yae Miko and Raiden Ei.
And with that, Valerius led all the players back into the church.
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