"Oh my, that's the downside of being too famous; you get recognized so quickly. But now that my true name is known, I can't just let it slide, can I?"
Although Cú Chulainn said that, Jean could see he still looked quite pleased, so she retorted.
"In my hometown, there's an old saying: 'The greatest warriors have no glorious achievements.' As for your fame, isn't it mainly because you died a miserable death?"
"You have such a pretty face, yet your tongue is so sharp. But someone with your skills couldn't possibly be unknown, could they?"
"No, no, no. I am an Assassin. It's normal for no one to know me. When an assassin is discovered by others, they have already half-failed."
Jean, the fake Assassin, spoke solemnly to Cú Chulainn about her 'words of experience,' as if it were truly the case.
Cú Chulainn nodded in agreement. "That makes sense. Then I'll grant your wish; disappear here, unknown."
As his voice fell, the crimson cold light struck again. This time, the speed increased by another notch, and at the same time, one could feel the magical energy on his spear constantly rising.
Relying on instinct, Jean parried the first strike, but Cú Chulainn manipulated the spear tip and thrust it toward the ground.
[Gáe Bolg]
Sure enough, it was a Noble Phantasm activation. The crimson spear turned into a path of light, taking an impossible trajectory straight for Jean's heart.
Knowing the properties of this Noble Phantasm, Jean didn't even consider dodging. Instead, she pulled out 'overture' and fired a shot at Cú Chulainn.
In an instant, blood splattered and sparks flew.
The crimson spear tip pierced directly through Jean's heart, while Jean's ammunition also landed a direct hit because Cú Chulainn could not see the target itself, causing his Protection from Arrows to degrade due to the weapon being unusable.
Although he still managed to avoid a vital spot, the secondary explosion created a huge wound.
But it didn't end there. At that moment, Jean raised her hand and unleashed a slash, deepening the physical damage to his wound, while a gust of wind pushed him away.
"Cough, cough. That was truly ruthless. You are a quite outstanding warrior, but in the end, it is still my victory."
But Jean still stood there, pointing her gun at Cú Chulainn. With a 'bang,' the gun fired, but accompanied by a 'clang,' the bullet was deflected by the spear tip and exploded in the open space not far away.
"Battle Continuation?"
Cú Chulainn also endured the pain, his face grave. He didn't know how long the girl whose heart had been pierced could hold on.
But what was certain was that in this situation, other Servants would likely come following the fluctuations of the battle, and his own body was completely unable to endure the next fight.
He looked at Jean with great hesitation, then made up his mind to retreat quickly and vanished by turning into a spirit form.
At this moment, an anxious-looking Tohsaka Rin ran over quickly with Matou Sakura, hurriedly preparing to begin treatment on the hole in Jean's chest.
But she was stopped by Jean: "It's okay. As long as I don't get injured again, I won't die."
"Eh? Is that so?"
At this moment, a dagger gleaming with cold light thrust toward Jean.
But just at the moment it was about to pierce Jean, silvery-white wind blocked the dagger's attack.
"Sorry, I was joking."
Jean looked playfully at Matou Sakura, who was holding the dagger, while the hole in her chest was also healing rapidly.
At this moment, Matou Sakura also realized that the blonde girl before her had discovered her long ago, and everything else was just acting.
"When did you discover me?" Matou Sakura asked in confusion.
"Of course, right from the beginning. Because there wasn't a shred of fear in your heart." Not only was there no fear, but there was also that deep hostility directed towards her.
Matou Sakura frowned, but quickly relaxed. After all, against an enemy with mind-reading abilities, this couldn't be called a mistake.
"But I have to compliment you," Jean continued. "After all, you chose to attack me instead of that silly sister of yours beside you. That's not bad at all—you'd rather choose a more difficult and dangerous method than harm your own family."
Jean had been guarding against Matou Sakura attacking Tohsaka Rin. The concept of family had a special meaning in Jean's heart; if that had actually happened, no matter how deep the grudge, Jean would never have let it slide.
"What are you talking about? Attack her?! It wouldn't have been necessary at all, okay!" Matou Sakura clearly didn't want to admit it.
Then, just as Jean was about to reach out to restrain her, the cold light of the dagger flashed again. The speed was so fast that it almost caught Jean off guard, but fortunately, her instinct to place a thin layer of Stardust Wind on her skin blocked the attack.
But the attack didn't end there. Following through, she aimed a side kick at Jean, and at the same time, the shadow at her feet turned into a blade and attacked Jean.
Jean simply wrapped her foot with Stardust Wind and crushed the shadow blade with one stomp, while simultaneously grabbing Matou Sakura's kicking ankle firmly with one hand.
"Remember to wear safety shorts when a girl does moves like this."
In the midst of the seemingly intense battle, she gave a live demonstration of what it meant to burn bridges; after feasting her eyes, she even cut off the other person's retreat.
"Mind your own business!" Matou Sakura jerked her leg back, and Jean didn't press the issue and let go directly.
"Do you understand now? Even without that disgraceful Lancer, I can still fight Servants! I was just giving that guy a chance earlier, I didn't expect him to be so useless."
"Understood, understood. Miss Sakura, who possesses power rivaling a Servant, resorted to this desperate measure just to give her useless Servant a chance."
Jean recalled how, shortly after the battle began, Matou Sakura had proactively blocked the space between herself and Tohsaka Rin, as well as the hostility in her mind clearly directed at her.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind: "Ah, you weren't afraid that I would take your sister as a hostage, so you didn't want to expose that you are the master of Lancer, were you?"
"!!"
Looking at Matou Sakura's expression, this outrageous guess was already eight or nine parts correct.
But this deduction had a significant loophole; after all, a master possesses command spells and is on the same side as their Servant, unless...
"You knew that Tohsaka Rin's command spells couldn't be used?"
"!!!"
Seeing Jean pushing closer and closer to the truth, Matou Sakura also began to release magical energy. Then, the shadows on the ground turned into a quagmire and swallowed her, and continuing in this state, she rushed off into the distance.
"Rin, this sister of yours is much different than you imagined."
"Yeah, I didn't expect her to be so powerful."
Seeing Rin think this way, Jean didn't continue the conversation. After all, what Jean really wanted to say was: Your sister is most likely a yandere sister-con.
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