"Sisigou-san!"
Shirou shouted urgently, extending his hand toward Sisigou as he desperately dashed forward, hoping to shove him out of harm's way.
Yet, with Shirou's current speed, it was impossible to rescue Sisigou from Assassin's blade in such a short instant.
Nor did Sisigou have anything capable of blocking Assassin's attack—even if he reacted instantly and activated the degraded projection of Incursio Shirou had provided. Even Shirou's original projection barely held against Assassin's attacks; this downgraded version would be shredded like paper.
A sudden, piercing cry echoed from the sky.
"Hyuuu—!"
Chaotic gusts of wind plunged violently downward, instantly dispersing the dense mist.
A massive figure hurtled directly toward the petite silhouette.
BOOM—!
A fierce shockwave erupted from just behind Sisigou.
"Aaah!"
With a soft, startled cry, the small girl was violently hurled away, streaking through the air like a silver comet before smashing into a sturdy wall.
The stone wall fractured violently around her, cracks spreading outward like a spiderweb from the impact.
"That hurt!"
The silver-haired girl slid limply down the wall, collapsing weakly onto the ground.
The intense blast of wind made it hard for Shirou to open his eyes. He only heard another impact directly in front of him.
Thud—!
Something heavy slammed into Shirou before he could halt his momentum, knocking him backward onto the ground.
"Yo! Master of King Arthur!"
As the fog cleared, a strange creature with the upper body of a griffin and the lower body of a horse hovered into view, flapping its powerful wings. Sitting astride this creature, Astolfo cheerfully waved at Shirou.
"Rider?"
Shirou rubbed his eyes, raising his head groggily and attempting to stand back up.
"Ugh...!"
A mature-sounding groan, laced with annoyance and smoke, emerged from underneath Shirou. Although Astolfo's attack had targeted Assassin, the powerful gust had inadvertently blasted Sisigou as well.
Against a Servant's power, Sisigou had no chance of reacting.
"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! Mama! Mama! We're hurting so much, Mama!"
The silver-haired girl tightly hugged herself, trembling violently as she whimpered pitifully. Her frail form curled helplessly at the base of the broken wall, looking as hopeless as a little match-girl shivering in a snowstorm.
"Rider! Take out Assassin, now!"
Shirou rose to his feet, steadying Sisigou with one hand, urgently pointing at Assassin, who'd been smashed against the wall by Astolfo. If they allowed her to dissolve into the mist again, they'd quickly lose their advantage.
Rider's arrival had certainly helped ease their situation, but the danger hadn't fully passed. Even if Assassin didn't directly attack, merely her presence releasing the mist was enough to threaten them.
"Roger that!"
Perhaps it was because Astolfo was the son of England's King Otto, and thus felt instinctively drawn to Arthur. He easily placed trust in Arthur's Master as well.
The creature beneath Astolfo transformed into a streak of light, charging swiftly toward Assassin once more.
BOOM—!
The already damaged wall instantly collapsed, sending countless stones crashing downward.
A huge cloud of dust engulfed Astolfo completely. Shirou could only see the mist rapidly dispersing.
"Did he finish her off?"
Shirou muttered doubtfully. Could such a troublesome Assassin truly have been dispatched so easily?
"Ow, ow, ow, ow!"
A figure emerged from the dust. Astolfo was clutching his head with an expression of exaggerated pain as he swiftly approached Shirou again.
"Those stones hitting my head really hurt!"
Astolfo rubbed his injured head ruefully.
"What about Assassin?"
"Her Master decisively used a [Command Spell]—I missed her completely," Astolfo explained sheepishly.
"I see…"
Shirou sighed inwardly. I suppose eliminating a Servant couldn't be that simple.
Among Servants, Assassin might be the weakest in direct combat—but for a Master, Assassin's mere existence was always like a blade hovering overhead.
Even the strongest barriers created by modern mages were no guarantee against Assassin's infiltration—she could bypass even perfect defenses to strike her targets unseen.
"Master!"
Before Shirou could ask Astolfo anything else, an armored figure suddenly approached at blistering speed.
"Red Saber?"
Instantly, Astolfo summoned a lance nearly as tall as himself, blocking Shirou protectively.
Though Astolfo was well aware of his limited combat capabilities, he considered himself a hero—and heroes never stood by helplessly against formidable enemies.
Yet Mordred completely ignored him, rushing straight to Sisigou's side.
Scooping Sisigou effortlessly onto her shoulder, Mordred sprinted away even faster, disappearing almost immediately.
Astolfo remained behind, thoroughly bewildered.
"Did I just...save Red Saber's Master?"
Astolfo blinked, asking Shirou uncertainly.
Shirou merely nodded, confirming Astolfo's suspicion.
"What happened, Saber?!"
Slung across Mordred's shoulder, Sisigou quickly asked upon noticing her urgency.
"Archer is about to unleash her Noble Phantasm here!" Mordred tersely explained, speeding away even faster.
She wasn't particularly afraid of Red Archer's Noble Phantasm itself—but Achilles had warned her it was a large-scale attack. Sisigou's body definitely couldn't withstand a direct Noble Phantasm strike.
Moreover, Mordred herself had no desire to get caught in her ally's indiscriminate area-of-effect attack.