—Boom!!
The relentless explosions echoed, the violent tremors shaking the entire room.
"They've finally come... Took them long enough."
Amid the crumbling building, Roy sat calmly on the workshop's sofa, soothing a magically sedated Sakura Tohsaka while observing the chaos outside through a mirror on the table, surrounded by falling debris.
Compared to the panicked Waver and the furious Kayneth, enraged by the bombardment of his magical workshop, Roy's demeanor was strikingly composed.
Scáthach, beside him, wore a faint smile, her hands conjuring two crimson magical spears. Runes swirled around her under her command, signaling she was fully prepared for battle.
The entire building continued to quake under the relentless barrage from afar and nearby timed explosions. Even Kayneth, confident in his workshop, was now in a state of panic.
Inwardly, he cursed: Cursed, cursed, cursed...
He had miscalculated.
Despite anticipating the worst from his enemies' despicable tactics, he realized, in this confrontation, he'd underestimated them.
These scoundrels cared nothing for the secrecy of the mysteries, employing tactics not of mages but of rogues—no, terrorists.
He thought the Origin Bullet was their limit, but never in his wildest dreams did Kayneth expect them to pull out timed bombs and RPGs—massive, destructive weapons—catching him off guard.
His meticulously crafted workshop was rendered useless under this shameless assault.
Forget entering the workshop; they aimed to skip fighting altogether, intending to crush him under the collapsing building.
"Kiritsugu Emiya, you damned bastard! I won't let you get away with this!!"
Fury clouded his mind. Though reluctant, Kayneth knew he had to abandon his workshop, its countless precious magecraft tools, and three top-tier mana furnaces.
The items here were worth nearly a billion pounds, but Kayneth understood the adage: As long as the mountain stands, there's wood to burn. He could earn money again, but a lost life was gone forever. He knew his priorities.
In this critical moment, Kayneth reached for Sakura beside Roy, intending to protect her with his Volumen Hydrargyrum, shouting to Waver and Roy.
"You two idiots, what are you standing there for?! Move!"
"Rider, get us out of here!!"
Waver shouted urgently.
But Iskandar merely scratched his ear, seemingly unbothered by Kayneth's cries or Waver's orders.
Their urgency spiked, assuming Iskandar was pulling some stunt at this critical moment.
With the situation dire, Waver raised his hand, ready to use a Command Seal to force Iskandar to evacuate them.
But Roy intervened.
"Wait, Waver, Professor Kayneth. It's not as bad as it seems. Stay calm."
"Roy? At a time like this, what are you doing?!"
Seeing Roy's calm demeanor, Kayneth roared.
The fire was at their doorstep—how could he stay so composed? They'd be too late if they didn't move now!
Iskandar answered for Roy.
"What's the rush, Lemonhead? Isn't this your workshop? Use your magecraft to check—it hasn't collapsed yet."
"For some reason, this kid anticipated this. The Queen of the Land of Shadows modified these floors, isolating them from the rest. They're in a stasis state, so they won't fall for now."
To bolster his point, Iskandar pulled back the curtains.
Amid the dust from the collapsing building, hundreds of dense purple runes adorned the walls, reinforcing the three floors and isolating their structure. Despite the trembling building, this area remained largely unaffected.
Knowing this, Iskandar hadn't panicked.
He knew they had a strategist who'd foreseen this and prepared countermeasures.
If so, there was no need for him to act rashly and risk disrupting the plan.
"You... predicted this?"
Seeing the situation, Kayneth froze, then looked at the still-calm Roy in astonishment.
"Well, not exactly. I just took precautions against Kiritsugu Emiya. From last night's clash, I could tell he's not one for fair magical rituals."
Answering Kayneth, Roy spoke casually, spinning a tale. "So I had Scáthach make some preparations. Didn't expect they'd come in handy."
"...I see. Then I owe you one."
Hearing Roy's response, Kayneth quietly sighed in relief.
In this moment of salvation, he had no reason to doubt Roy, who was clearly helping him.
"Haha, well done, kid! Judging this accurately in one night—you're a fine strategist! In my era, you'd be a formidable rival as an enemy!"
"How about it? Join my ranks? Once I reclaim my body, I'll make you my strategist, and we'll conquer the world!"
Impressed by Roy's performance, Iskandar laughed heartily, his desire to recruit talent flaring, trying to sway him.
"No thanks, King of Conquerors. I just got lucky, not a strategist or tactician."
Roy shook his head, inwardly musing, Just leveraging some foreknowledge...
—Boom!!
As they chatted, several more RPGs whistled from afar, exploding against the windows. The attackers had noticed the anomaly of these three floors and intensified their assault.
Though the blasts didn't penetrate, the violent tremors and nearby flames made Kayneth's heart race.
"Roy, got any other countermeasures? This can't go on. If they unleash a Noble Phantasm, even rune-reinforced walls won't hold!"
Realizing the gravity, Kayneth shouted to Roy, desperate for a solution.
"Of course. Please, stay calm..."
Roy nodded to Iskandar, speaking politely.
"King of Conquerors, when I met Waver, we shared intel, so I know your Noble Phantasm. Now's the perfect time to use it."
"My Noble Phantasm? You want me to..."
"Use your Reality Marble to transfer these floors. Then they can't attack us."
Seeing Iskandar's confusion, Roy clarified.
"I see."
Iskandar's eyes lit up, grasping Roy's intent, and praised him.
"Worthy of a strategist! Why didn't I think of that?"
Waver and Kayneth, hearing Roy urge Rider to use his Reality Marble, gaped in disbelief.
"Rider! You have a Reality Marble? Why didn't you say so?!"
To them, the revelation that this red-haired gorilla had a Reality Marble was as shocking as Kiritsugu bombing the workshop.
How could this brute align with magecraft?!
To their stunned expressions, Iskandar scratched his head, replying casually.
"No one but this kid asked me."
"..."
The room fell into a dead silence.
...
...
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!!
As a high-rise demolition expert, Kiritsugu lavishly fired more rockets at Kayneth's workshop.
The dazzling fireworks and explosions lit up the dark night.
Under multiple targeted blasts and Kiritsugu's relentless RPG barrage, the teetering building finally collapsed. Even the three magically reinforced floors vanished into the dust.
From a distant rooftop, Kiritsugu watched through binoculars, his expression cold.
As the final three floors fell, a faint smile tugged at his lips.
As expected, no mystery could withstand sufficient firepower. Even the Lord who chased him relentlessly last night would be buried in the rubble.
The spear-wielding god-slayer Fionn and the Mineralogy Lord's stronghold were destroyed, their fates unknown.
Now was the perfect time for a finishing blow.
Without his workshop and likely injured, Kayneth would be at his most vulnerable.
So Kiritsugu didn't hesitate, sending Saber to clear the battlefield, tasking her to hold off Fionn while ordering all Assassins to eliminate Kayneth.
Tonight, Lancer's end was nigh.
"Didn't expect you to show up... Saber."
On the battlefield, Artoria didn't find Fionn as Kiritsugu predicted, but Scáthach, waiting amidst the ruins.
The Queen of the Land of Shadows stood alone, her crimson eyes coldly sweeping over the newly arrived Artoria, a faint smile on her face.
"..."
Artoria didn't respond, calmly scanning the surroundings, her expression grim.
"I thought the renowned King Arthur was a noble Heroic Spirit, a true knight. Yet you resort to such extreme tactics, even dragging civilians into it for victory."
Noticing Saber's concerned gaze, Scáthach sneered, mocking her.
"Using any means in war is common, but since you've done it, fight honorably. Why put on this sanctimonious act for others?"
"...I have no words for this outcome, Queen Scáthach."
Seeing the devastation, Artoria closed her eyes, her heart heavy.
"Sentimentality doesn't make a warrior... So, these are the Assassins who haven't withdrawn? They're here because they couldn't find the Master in the ruins, so they're targeting me?"
Scáthach surveyed the emerging shadows, already assessing the battlefield.
"Saber, Assassin, and where's that golden Archer? Not joining this time?"
"I don't know..."
Artoria shook her head, also displeased with Kiritsugu's ruthless actions, answering Scáthach's questions candidly.
But she hadn't expected Kayneth's Servant to be Lancer—not Fionn, but the Queen of the Land of Shadows...
None of that mattered now.
As a golden figure emerged from the ruins, the battle's outcome was sealed.
A disheveled Kayneth climbed from the wreckage, shouting as he ran to Scáthach's side.
"Lancer, don't just stand there! Eliminate these workshop-destroying scum!!"
Artoria, watching, inwardly cursed his foolishness.
His appearance disrupted Scáthach's rhythm, forcing her to protect him and splitting her focus. Hiding until the end offered a slim chance of survival, but showing himself now was a death sentence, especially with Assassins on the field.
Seeing Kayneth, the Assassins searching the ruins surged forward. Countless shadows descended in the night, assembling all hundred personas of Hassan of the Hundred Faces, targeting the ill-timed Lemonhead.
Scáthach glanced at Kayneth, and they shared a knowing smile, nodding silently.
Despite Kayneth's feigned anger, he was inwardly gleeful.
With all Assassins and Saber present, they might wipe out the opposition in one fell swoop.
As a Lord, his mind was razor-sharp in this crisis. How could he not know his reckless appearance would be a glaring weakness, hindering Lancer? Even if he were to err, it wouldn't be like this.
But conversely, without such a bait, how could he lure all the fish?
They played the information gap with their alliance?
Then don't blame him for fighting dirty. Their side had already formed a superior alliance.
So Kayneth and Roy's plan was simple: use himself as bait to draw out the snakes, then take them all down!
"Perfect! One god-slayer belongs to that Lord. If we eliminate him, we remove a major threat!"
Observing Kayneth's appearance through a familiar, Tokiomi stood excitedly. He urgently ordered Kirei beside him to spare no effort, deploying all Assassins to eliminate the threat.
"..."
Kirei's expression remained cold, watching the familiar's feed, a vague unease stirring within. He wanted to caution Tokiomi, but seeing his excitement, a dangerous thought emerged...
What expression would professor make if this were a trap?
Meanwhile, Kiritsugu's expression was odd upon seeing Kayneth.
"He came out so easily... Strange, very strange..."
He couldn't pinpoint it, but an ominous feeling gripped him.
His assistant, Maiya Hisau, quietly asked, "Kiritsugu, as expected, Saber won't attack El-Melloi."
"Predictable. Asking King Arthur to finish off or fight an unfair two-on-one battle is her limit. Her nature won't let her attack a Master directly, unless... we use a Command Seal!"
"But that would mean a complete break with Saber..."
Maiya knew the consequences and tried to dissuade Kiritsugu.
But, gripped by intense unease, Kiritsugu couldn't afford to care.
His greatest trump card, his wife Irisviel, was missing. His alliance with Tokiomi was a gamble, and Saber's compatibility was abysmal.
He had no other choice.
No time to hesitate. To win, he had to seize every opportunity, at any cost!
With that, Kiritsugu's gaze hardened, and he used a Command Seal.
"By the Command Seal, Saber! Attack Kayneth immediately and eliminate them swiftly!!"
—Swoosh!!
A red flash faded, and a Command Seal vanished from his hand.
On the battlefield.
"Sorry, Lancer. Fighting you like this wasn't my intent, but..."
Though Assassins urged her to act, Artoria didn't attack, continuing her talk with Scáthach until...
"Kiritsugu!!"
Artoria screamed as her body moved involuntarily, swinging her holy sword at Kayneth beside Scáthach.
"This... the Command Seal?"
Seeing this, Scáthach raised a brow, instantly guessing the cause.
"Saber's Master is a troublesome one..."
***
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