"I didn't expect things to turn out like this..."
Kotomine Kirei clutched his bleeding right arm, casting a glance at Emiya Kiritsugu's retreating silhouette.
All seven Servants, assembled in one place. Not a single Master had foreseen that.
Even Caster and Lancer, who had been fighting elsewhere, had drifted over. The hidden Berserker and Rider had revealed themselves as well.
This was entirely beyond anyone's calculations.
Magical energy was being steadily drained: the inevitable toll of Servants in combat.
'I can't stay.'
Having reached that conclusion, the concealed Kiritsugu made his assessment.
He had managed to wound Kirei's right arm, but he himself hadn't emerged unscathed. The bruises covering his body from their exchanges left him in considerable pain.
'What's happening over there...?'
He could faintly sense the Servants converging in one location, but the specifics remained a mystery.
"My, what a surprising scene."
An unfamiliar voice drew both Kirei and Kiritsugu's attention.
A figure appeared on the street before them.
Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald!
Both men identified the newcomer simultaneously.
One of the Lords of the Clock Tower, and the collaborator of this war's Lancer Master.
"I originally only intended to have Lancer chase down Caster and undo his magecraft. But I happened upon two Masters fighting here."
Stepping forward, the mercury slime-like entity glided alongside him.
"Dispatching both of you at once would lighten Sola's burden considerably."
An opportunity this golden, Kayneth would never let slip. Killing two Masters meant two Servants losing their anchors and vanishing from the war.
"Oh? You'd like to test the gap between us?"
"A provincial magus, in the end."
"Utterly lacking in perspective."
Regarding Kirei, who had produced Black Keys between his fingers, Kayneth spoke with cold disdain.
Against the head families of Fuyuki, Tohsaka or Matou, he might have spared some interest. But the two before him? One was merely Tohsaka's apprentice. The other, an outcast among magi.
How could they possibly be his match?
Harboring that arrogance, he directed the Volumen Hydragyrum to attack.
"!"
"!"
The mercury tentacles surged forward, and both men, positioned in separate locations, sprang into action.
'Time to withdraw.'
With that thought, Kiritsugu abandoned any notion of lingering. Under these circumstances, killing Kirei was no longer viable. And the status of Irisviel and Maiya demanded personal confirmation.
Bang!
Employing his magecraft to evade one more attack, Kiritsugu slipped away to his hidden vehicle.
VROOOOM!!
Floor the accelerator. He sped off in a specific direction.
"Time magecraft? Runs fast, at least."
"Hmph. No matter. You won't escape."
Somewhat surprised by Kiritsugu's "time" magecraft, Kayneth considered it briefly before letting the man go.
Did this pariah of the magical world seriously think Kayneth had arrived unprepared?
"Let's start with you, Tohsaka's watchdog."
Turning to face Kirei, who was deflecting mercury with his Black Keys, Kayneth grinned.
Screeeech!!
The vehicle tore down the road at breakneck speed, but Kiritsugu noticed something was wrong.
People. There were no people.
Not a single soul on the entire drive. Even if Kirei's district wasn't exactly bustling, it shouldn't have been this empty.
Howl!
A dark shadow streaked across the ground, surging upward in the form of a wolf.
A familiar!
Recognizing the threat by its movement, Kiritsugu raised his gun one-handed without hesitation.
BANG!!
The shot obliterated it entirely. Kiritsugu now understood what Kayneth had done.
"He's fortified this entire area with magecraft?"
"Wraiths, familiars, even a labyrinth."
That level of investment was befitting of a Clock Tower Lord.
Without Servant support, this was a genuine problem.
"I need to find the anchor points first..."
He was trapped in a looping labyrinth. Without dismantling it, escape was impossible.
Bangbangbangbangbang!!!
Gunfire echoed relentlessly as he destroyed oncoming wraiths and familiars. The thought of using a Command Spell crossed his mind but quickly faded.
Perhaps, this could also be turned into an opportunity.
CLANG!!
BOOM!!
While the Masters tangled in their own conflict, the Servants had long since entered their own respective battles.
Lancer versus Caster.
Berserker versus Assassin.
Rider versus Saber.
With the exception of Archer, who remained perched on his lamppost, everyone had a clear opponent.
"You bastard! Hurry up and undo this stupid magic circle!"
Wielding magically-formed thorn chains, Sakura Kyoko chased Jonouchi, screaming.
"With that look on your face? No way I'm releasing it!"
Drawing a card to summon a new monster as a shield, Jonouchi fired back.
He was utterly fed up with this girl. Her offense was relentless, and she was an absolute pest to shake.
Those bizarre clones served as expendable decoys, steadily burning through his hand and set cards.
CLASH!!
Katana met longsword, steel ringing beautifully.
'Even his swordsmanship is this refined... who on earth is he?'
Kenshin studied the Berserker wielding a katana, more intrigued than ever.
A master of greatswords, spears, axes, and magecraft was one thing. But to be this skilled with a katana as well?
The style felt Japanese in nature, yet the school was one Kenshin had never encountered.
In that moment, a flash of sword energy forced him to raise his guard.
Five Heavenly Swords!
Visible blue sword ki carved furrows in the earth and swept forward.
Compared to the other battles, the exchange between Rider Lelouch and Saber Artoria had grown remarkably calm.
Lelouch, who'd initially been on guard, was surprised to find that Saber had stopped "lashing out."
He couldn't quite parse the King of Knights' thought process.
Or rather, when it came to the female mind, he was fundamentally outmatched.
But as long as she didn't interfere with him, there was no issue.
"Will you tell me?"
"Your wish?"
Saber's quiet words caught him off guard.
"How is that any of your concern?"
"I simply want to know... if you truly are a King of Britannia, what wish could possibly require fulfillment."
Rejected, Saber didn't retreat into frustration. Instead, her voice softened.
"What if I said it was world peace?"
Hearing those words, Saber stiffened.
She'd heard that phrase before, from Kiritsugu.
But from a mundane human, it was understandable. Coming from a Heroic Spirit and fellow King, the words carried a very different weight.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]
PS: Making up for yesterday's chapter.