"I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!"
Though Taiga Fujimura was screaming those words, her body moved with remarkable agility, weaving through the rain of magical arrows conjured by Fairy Tristan. Frustrated by her inability to mimic the real Tristan's weapon, Fairy Tristan abandoned the attempt and instead directly channeled her magical power to unleash a denser barrage of crimson blades. Yet even this relentless barrage failed to hit Taiga, who dodged every single attack.
"Gotcha! Killing intent alone can't defeat the invincible Jaguar Man!"
"Such a tacky self-proclamation."
Though Taiga Fujimura was usually boisterous, her Fusion into a Jaguar Warrior had amplified her childishness tenfold, making her seem like a mere three-year-old.
"What are you saying?! It's totally cool, okay?! This Jaguar Warrior is getting seriously angry now!"
Taiga Fujimura suddenly intensified her assault, shifting from playful evasion to aggressive strikes. After parrying Fairy Tristan's attack with her Tiger Claw Staff, she lunged forward, sweeping the weapon in a horizontal arc aimed at Fairy Tristan's abdomen.
Fairy Tristan smirked. With a lightning-fast backbend that nearly folded her body in half, she effortlessly dodged the strike.
Fairy Tristan was incredibly agile, her agility stat on the heroic spirit panel rated A. This likely stemmed from her possession of Morgan's Water Mirror and her unique skill, Grimalkin. Even without the Water Mirror's effects, her agility remained top-tier.
"Wow, you're really nimble!" Taiga Fujimura exclaimed, surprised by Fairy Tristan's evasive maneuvers. Her speed rivaled even Taiga's own in the dense jungle. True to her impulsive nature, Taiga immediately praised her opponent.
"But as the swiftest Jaguar in the jungle, I won't lose!"
Ignoring Taiga's remark, Fairy Tristan, sensing mounting pressure, shifted her posture. Using her momentum, she spun sideways, her blood-red magical energy-infused high heels glowing ominously as they slashed toward Taiga's neck.
Taiga leaped backward with effortless ease, dodging the strike without breaking a sweat.
Fairy Tristan wouldn't let Taiga off so easily. Since ranged attacks proved ineffective, she closed the distance. Blood-red magical energy surged forward, carving a crimson path between them. Using her heel as an ice skate, Fairy Tristan spun gracefully forward like a figure skater, her heel leaving a bloodstained gash in the air like a reaping scythe.
The clash of heels and staffs echoed incessantly through the arena, punctuated by the crimson magical attacks unleashed by Fairy Tristan. Even Jiang You could see that Taiga Fujimura completely outmatched Fairy Tristan in martial arts. Fairy Tristan lacked a decisive, short-burst offensive capability, making her eventual defeat a foregone conclusion. Her current performance was likely just Taiga Fujimura toying with her.
Just as Jiang You pulled out popcorn, ready to watch how long this fight would drag on, the patrolling Jaguar Warriors heard the commotion and rushed back to the scene.
Seeing their Boss locked in a "fierce battle," they couldn't intervene to help. Instead, they surrounded Jiang You, an obvious outsider.
"Wait, shouldn't you be waiting for their Duel to end?" Jiang You protested, gesturing toward the still-clashing figures in the arena while pointing at the Jaguar Warriors gripping their weapons.
But the Jaguar Warriors wouldn't understand. Instead of retreating, they roared and lunged at Jiang You.
These creatures were indeed Phantasmal Beasts, but they were ultimately mass-produced, low-ranking beings—roughly equivalent to second or third-tier soldiers. Against Jiang You, an elite with a Heroic Spirit Panel boasting all-C stats, they stood little chance. Jiang You decided to test his new body's strength.
With a few punches and kicks, Jiang You swiftly took them down. He experienced the fleeting pleasure of a "mowing down" game within this card battle. Despite his near-zero combat skills, the Jaguar Warriors managed to inflict some damage on him. However, thanks to his pain reduction, Jiang You remained unaffected.
Taiga Fujimura, catching sight of the situation, abruptly accelerated her attacks. Fairy Tristan, who had assumed Fujimura's earlier speed was her limit, was caught off guard and failed to react in time, getting sent flying by a Jaguar Warrior's whip-like kick. The blow didn't inflict serious injury, but it made Fairy Tristan acutely aware of the gap between her strength and Fujimura's, deterring her from recklessly engaging in close combat. Fujimura, meanwhile, refrained from pressing her advantage, and the two warriors entered a tense stalemate.
"Little brother, your presence is far too faint, and your stance is utterly relaxed. You nearly fooled me into thinking you were some Master-like figure. What a disappointment! I was even considering defecting."
Taiga Fujimura stared at Jiang You, beckoning him with a provocative gesture.
"Since you're both Servants, why don't you team up with this little girl? Otherwise, she'll just end up as a snack for us."
Jiang You suddenly remembered that in the 1.7 storyline, Fuuma Kotarou and Amakusa Shirou, those two unfortunate souls, had been eaten by the Jaguar Warrior after coming to investigate Ur. It seemed they had been defeated by Taiga Fujimura. The incident even left Amakusa with a psychological trauma towards the Jaguar Warrior.
This guy is too strong. Are all Heroic Spirits from Pan-Human History this powerful?
Fairy Tristan was being completely overwhelmed. Her only means of dealing significant damage, her Noble Phantasm Fetch Failnaught, couldn't be activated because she couldn't obtain a piece of Taiga Fujimura's body. She saw no path to victory.
Knowing she couldn't win, and believing Jiang You would lose to his "Mother" in a Duel, Fairy Tristan saw no point in gambling. "Jiang You, let me ask you something. If I die, I'll return to my world. But what happens to you if you die?"
"Then I'll just die, I guess."
Jiang You hadn't tried it yet, but it was highly likely he'd return to his last save point—similar to a timeline shift, if you wanted to put it that way. In any case, it was practically the same as dying.
"Hmph, I see."
Fairy Tristan surveyed her surroundings. If she engaged in mass slaughter, the pools of blood would amplify her power as a Blood-Sucking Fairy, allowing her to stall Taiga Fujimura for longer.
"Though I couldn't care less if you died, I still need your help to fulfill my Mother's wishes. So I'll be merciful and help you this once. Find a way to break through, hide, and wait for the cooldown to pass before asking for my help again. You act so confident, yet you've landed yourself in this mess—truly useless!"
"You underestimate me. Have some faith."
Despite her harsh words, Fairy Tristan had already made her decision. Jiang You felt like his card deck was about to be delivered straight to her inbox.
"Even without a Duel, I have three ways to handle this situation. But for now—"
Jiang You strode forward and beckoned Taiga Fujimura with the same taunting gesture. "Defeating you is a task I can handle alone, Taiga Fujimura-sensei."