Lancer, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, was feeling rather frustrated.
He had spent the entire day wandering the streets of Fuyuki, deliberately radiating the presence of a Servant. Yet even as night fell, not a single Servant had answered his silent challenge.
Holding out hope that the night might still bring combat, he had deliberately chosen the bay warehouse district in northern Fuyuki. His Master, preparing for a possible encounter, had even set up a bounded field to keep civilians out.
But... no one came.
Just as Diarmuid began to accept that he wouldn't be fighting tonight, a thunderous explosion echoed from the direction of the seaside park.
Along with it came a surge of powerful Mana—and the unmistakable presence of Servants.
It seemed that someone else had jumped into battle before even responding to his challenge.
Under his Master's orders, Diarmuid left the warehouse district and made his way toward the seaside park.
Perched atop a treetop, he could clearly see two female Servants locked in fierce combat.
What shocked him even more was how alike they looked—so alike, in fact, that Diarmuid couldn't help but feel intrigued and sympathetic.
If someone from his past had appeared as a Servant in the Holy Grail War, he too would have asked his Master to let him face them first.
"It's Saber and... Berserker?" he muttered.
His Master's voice came through the magical communication channel, clearly deliberating the situation.
"Master, that Berserker isn't just skilled in close combat—she's using powerful Magecraft as well. Even Saber, with her excellent Magic Resistance, is struggling against her," Diarmuid reported.
A foe like that made his blood stir with the thrill of battle. He longed to challenge Berserker. But as a knight, interfering in a duel between Servants as a third party was utterly dishonorable. It was something he simply couldn't condone.
Unfortunately, his Master didn't share the same scruples.
"That Berserker could be a real problem if we leave her be. Lancer, go assist Saber and take her down."
"But, my lord! Intervening like this is—"
Diarmuid couldn't stop himself from protesting, imploring his Master from the shadows.
"That's an order."
His Master's tone was cold and final.
Clenching his twin spears, still wrapped in rune-etched cloth to conceal their true forms, Diarmuid gritted his teeth.
Even if it went against his code as a knight, he couldn't bring himself to disobey a rational command from his Master.
"...As you command," he answered, voice strained, then charged toward the battlefield.
But in the next instant, an overwhelming sense of danger brought him to a halt.
Out of nowhere, a vortex of pitch-black crows erupted into the air. At first, only a dozen. Within two seconds, their numbers swelled into the hundreds, then thousands.
Their piercing cries carried an ominous weight.
Then, just as suddenly, the storm of crows dispersed. Standing at its center was a young man in winter clothing.
"A sound strategy—but unfortunately, this path is one-way only. Please turn back, Lancer. You and your Master," said Tenkei Shiomi, extending a hand in a calm gesture of dismissal.
The moment Diarmuid saw him, he realized this wasn't a disguised Servant—it was one of the Masters in the Holy Grail War. His tense posture relaxed slightly.
The sudden appearance—whether through illusion or spatial transfer—was no simple feat. Whoever this was, he was no ordinary Magus.
But in the Holy Grail War, it was common knowledge: Masters couldn't match Servants in combat.
"Step aside. I have no wish for my spears to be stained with a Master's blood," Diarmuid said, raising his weapon. The tip pointed straight at Shiomi's brow.
Seeing his words had no effect, Shiomi slowly lowered his arm. "Come on now, they're in the middle of a reunion. Wouldn't it be a shame to interrupt and spoil the mood?"
In truth, he had left the decision to Morgan herself. After taking Sakura and Caren home and settling them in, he'd rushed back to the scene.
Watching Morgan's fight with Artoria heat up—with Morgan holding her own—Shiomi had opted to stay back and observe.
What he didn't expect was for Lancer's Master to try and exploit the situation by throwing their Servant into the mix.
"Sorry, but I can't disobey my Master's orders," Diarmuid replied. "If you refuse to move, then I'll have no choice but to force my way through!"
Among all Servant classes in the Holy Grail War, Lancer boasts the highest base Agility—surpassing even Rider.
And Diarmuid, as an exceptional Lancer, possessed an A+ rank in Agility.
He was confident that no modern-day Magus could possibly stop him—not with his speed...
At least, that's what he believed.
As he tried to dash past Tenkei Shiomi to reach the battlefield, a low sweeping kick came at him from the side.
Caught completely off guard, Diarmuid barely managed to block. The force behind the strike sent him flying several meters back—farther than where he had started.
"How... can this be..." Diarmuid muttered in disbelief.
Shiomi's kick hadn't injured him, but the impact alone was enough to shake him.
A human Magus—matching a Servant's speed and even counterattacking at that level.
"This is your chance! Kill Berserker's Master, Lancer!"
His Master's command echoed through the magical channel. Diarmuid hesitated no longer, nor did he feel any regrets.
A Magus who could stand against a Servant—this man was not to be underestimated.
But just then, Shiomi, having knocked Diarmuid back, began inscribing four runes around them.
"The Ath nGabla (Ford of the Forked Branch)...?"
No Celtic warrior could fail to recognize it.
An oath of no retreat, a sacred mark that forbids fleeing or seeking survival through escape.
"Are you connected to the Knights of the Red Branch? Or perhaps a descendant of those warriors?" Diarmuid took his stance, ready for battle.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Shiomi said, flicking a small stone from his fingers.
"Hagalaz."
As he spoke the Rune's name, the stone streaked past Diarmuid's cheek—and suddenly exploded, releasing an icy burst of Magecraft capable of freezing everything in its path.
Even with a full-strength dodge, Diarmuid couldn't avoid it completely. A thin layer of frost spread across his left arm and the spear he held, creeping all the way to his neck.
Startled, Diarmuid glanced at his arm, then flexed. Mana surged, and the frost shattered.
Then, he let out a hearty laugh.
"To meet someone with the strength to knock me back, and Rune Magecraft this refined... I'm glad to have such a worthy opponent."
"Ugh, you're such a pain. I really don't want to fight you..." Shiomi sighed.
Yet even as he said that, he dropped into a ready stance—barehanded and unflinching, completely contradicting his words.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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