"Rider, what are we doing here?"
"You'll understand in a moment."
Making no effort to conceal their presence, Lelouch and Waver parked the Knightmare at the Church entrance and walked straight through the front door.
"Hmm?"
"Rider and his Master. What brings you to the Church?"
Risei noticed the pair immediately. Standing within the cathedral, he maintained his composure.
He didn't believe they'd come with hostile intent. Even if they had, transferring Command Spells required specialized knowledge. Brute force wouldn't work.
Killing the overseer would only brand them as aggressors against the Church, inviting retaliation from every other faction.
Furthermore, Risei himself was a martial arts master. Not enough to defeat a Heroic Spirit, but enough to hold his own briefly.
Given all this, Risei felt wholly secure.
"There's something I'd like to confirm."
Waver watched Lelouch walk ahead, still unable to guess the plan.
"Oh? If it's within my knowledge, I'll gladly answer, Emperor of Britannia."
Risei responded with practiced dignity.
"Regarding the reward for this extermination. Your earlier announcement implied that every participating Master would receive one Command Spell?"
"Correct. Is there a problem?"
Sensing something unsteady, Risei's brow furrowed. Behind his back, his fists subtly clenched.
Though uncertain what the mysterious Emperor intended, he remained on guard.
"Then, is it possible for a single Master to receive two Command Spells as reward?"
"What kind of joke is that? Such a thing would never happen."
"I know you harbor suspicions, but the Church's overseer would never arbitrarily violate the rules."
Shaking his head, Risei answered with righteous conviction.
He did possess a substantial reserve of Command Spells left by participants of previous Holy Grail Wars. But in maintaining order, he'd upheld a basic standard of fairness.
Even with his closeness to Tokiomi and his son being the man's apprentice, Risei had never privately funneled extra Command Spells to Tokiomi.
At most, he'd shared intelligence about other Masters. In that sense, he was "relatively impartial."
"So what you're confirming is that Command Spells can indeed be acquired in multiples?"
The old man hadn't denied the critical point. The corner of Lelouch's mouth rose as he asked the question he'd truly come for.
"!?"
A jolt of danger. Risei instinctively stepped backward.
But in his vision, the Heroic Spirit before him had eyes emblazoned with peculiar sigils, glowing an eerie crimson.
And in his ears, a distinctive incantation:
"In the name of Lelouch Vi Britannia--I command you!"
"Rider's team is very late."
Saber had been waiting long enough to grow restless. The expected reinforcements showed no sign of arriving.
Fifteen minutes.
Kiritsugu had been counting from the moment he'd made contact. At Rider's mobility, this delay was inexplicable.
Only one explanation fit.
They were making other arrangements.
Frowning, Kiritsugu felt a stir of unease. That young Emperor from Britannia was unpredictable.
CRASH!!
But just then, a building ahead erupted with a deafening impact, seizing his attention.
A girl dragging a blond young man by his collar burst through the wall.
"What?! Why is Saber here too?!"
"Hey, our house just got destroyed."
"Lancer and Caster are together?"
The sight left both Saber and Kiritsugu momentarily speechless.
This didn't match the intelligence at all.
"Saber, probe them first. Caster and Lancer have likely teamed up."
Already withdrawn to a distant rooftop, Kiritsugu peered through binoculars and issued instructions.
"Understood."
Following orders, Saber materialized her holy sword and armor.
"You've come to pile on too?!"
Kyoko glared at Saber with unbridled fury.
She hadn't forgotten what Saber's camp had cost her.
"Jonouchi. Looks like we won't be leaving until we deal with them."
Though she didn't understand the ambush, Kyoko recognized that retreating wasn't an option.
"Heh. You handle Saber. Leave Assassin to me."
Rising from the ground, Jonouchi dusted himself off and grinned.
"Idiot. We're in this deep and you can still laugh?"
"Better than crying my way through a fight, right?"
Even in crisis, the two found time for banter.
"Don't die!"
"Don't die!"
Two voices. Same words. Same moment. Back to back.
"If it's a fellow swordsman..."
"There's no way this one loses!"
"Go! Flame Swordsman!"
The moment Kenshin's silhouette leaped from the ruined building, Jonouchi had already slapped a new monster card onto his Duel Disk.
A muscular warrior in a horned helm appeared, gripping an orange-red longsword wreathed in scorching flames.
"!"
Spotting the summoned fighter, Kenshin heightened his guard. He would never underestimate Caster's familiars.
Divine sword raised, he noted the fire enveloping the opponent's blade.
Even at this distance, the heat was palpable.
Like Saber's wind-shrouded sword, this warrior cloaked his in flame.
"Then allow me to test myself."
Sensing a worthy sparring match, Kenshin murmured.
'Assassin, this time you need not kill Lancer or Caster. Simply initiate combat.'
Recalling Kirei's revised instructions, Kenshin found the perfect excuse to hold back.
CLANG!!
BOOM!
On the other side, Saber and Kyoko had already clashed.
"Sorry, but Sola's grudge..."
"I'm still going to settle!"
Using her spear's segmented transformations, Kyoko momentarily pressured Saber.
"!"
Facing Lancer's shape-shifting weapon for the first time, Saber took several unexpected hits.
As for Sola's "grudge"? She knew Kiritsugu was responsible. But Master and Servant were one unit. What came, she would accept.
"Hmph. Mongrels. Always so lacking in ceremony."
"The most important guest hasn't even arrived, and you've already begun the feast."
"This offense of lèse-majesté can only be atoned for in death. Don't you agree?"
Standing atop a lamppost in his golden armor, Gilgamesh spoke as if addressing himself.
And behind him, on the rooftop of a tall building, stood Berserker in jet-black armor.
"Tonight... will be a night of carnage!"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]