Chapter 126: Battle on Two Fronts
The twin swords tore through the atmosphere. The long blade swept through the clouds like a screaming reaper.
Just as Emiya Shirou had predicted, Archer—realizing that a plain [Pseudo-Anubis], or rather, one that hadn't successfully triggered its ability to stack stats, was inferior to [Kanshou] and [Bakuya]—had re-projected his signature twin blades. He chose not to rely on the Stand's power to fight Shirou.
However, precisely because Archer had witnessed Shirou's strength early on, he didn't simply charge in with the swords in hand. The moment Shirou lunged forward with [Pseudo-Anubis], Archer hurled both [Kanshou] and [Bakuya].
Thanks to his Projection Magecraft, Archer never lacked for ammunition. As soon as the old pair was thrown, a new set materialized in his hands. He continued to pelt them toward Shirou, utilizing the attraction between the "husband and wife" blades. Even the first pair that Shirou had dodged was drawn back by the second, curving back onto an attack trajectory toward Shirou's blind spot.
This was— —Triple-Linked Crane Wings!!
It was Archer's signature heterodox use of the twin blades. But the truly "wicked" part of this technique was only just beginning.
BOOM—!!!
Explosions. Constant explosions! As the new pair was thrown, Archer used the old pair as disposable bombs. The moment they flew back near Shirou, he detonated them instantly. Fire and shockwaves engulfed Shirou; even if they couldn't deal lethal damage, the thick smoke was meant to shroud his vision.
"Shirou!!"
Saber moved to rush to his aid, but in that instant— Swish!!
A crimson demonic spear thrust toward her face. Reacting with her [Instinct], Saber parried the blow and shouted, "Lancer! Are you also going to make yourself our enemy!?"
"Don't be so hasty, Saber. Didn't I tell you my wish?" Lancer retracted his spear, flowing with Saber's parry. He spun the weapon in a flashy flourish and resettled into an offensive stance, pointing the tip at her.
"My wish in responding to the Grail's summons has always been to find someone to fight. As long as there's a battle to be had, I don't care who the opponent is."
"..."
At this point, Lancer, his eyes locked on Saber, spoke without turning his head to the still-dazed Tohsaka Rin nearby: "Hey, little lady over there, what are you thinking?"
"...?" Likely not expecting Lancer to address her now, Rin pointed a finger at herself in confusion.
"Yes, you, little lady. Saber's Master has decided to seize victory in this war for Saber's sake," Lancer said.
"What about you?
As Archer's Master, are you going to stop those two idiots from fighting, or have you decided to respond to your own Servant's expectations as well?"
"Lancer, you're doing this for a reason like that!?" Saber couldn't suppress her anger.
As a fellow Servant, she could initially understand Lancer's actions. After all, there is only one winner in the Holy Grail War, and only one chance to wish—well, according to Shirou's description, if the first wish didn't drain the Grail, a second might be possible. But fundamentally, only one pair of Master and Servant can be the "victors."
Given that Shirou's side held all the advantages, it was logically the "correct" choice for Lancer to ally with Archer to pin Saber down while the Masters fought. But Lancer's words implied he wasn't doing this for victory at all. This was something Saber, whose obsession with the Grail had been reignited, could not reconcile.
"A reason 'like that'? This is no ordinary reason."
Leaning on the advantage of his spear's reach—and the fact that Saber had previously released her Noble Phantasm, revealing the holy sword from beneath [Invisible Air] and allowing Lancer to burn its dimensions into his memory—he no longer suffered the disadvantage of facing an invisible blade.
On the contrary, he utilized the "longer weapon, stronger advantage" rule to its limit. If not for Saber's powerful kinetic vision and [Instinct], a single moment of negligence would have seen her riddled with wounds by Lancer's god-tier spear combos.
Even while engaged with Saber, Lancer still had the breath to say, "As a Servant, I have quite a bit of say in this matter.
That's why I admire that kid's choice, and I envy you, Saber.
Since that kid can do something like this for Saber, I wonder what that little lady over there will do?" Lancer mused. "Don't you think it's interesting to witness such a thing, Saber?"
As Lancer spoke, Saber's initial probing phase was complete.
"...Wait, what!?"
Lancer seemed to detect an anomaly. The man who had been successfully pinning Saber down suddenly changed countenance and leaped back, trying to put distance between them.
But it was too late.
Whoosh—!!!
The wind began to let out a violent roar. A frantic storm erupted behind Saber in an instant. While the gale tore up and ravaged the floorboards of Ryudou Temple, it simultaneously acted as a massive thruster, propelling Saber's body forward to violently close the gap between her and Lancer!
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