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With the ice and the stopped time, although he was clad in heavy armor and his appearance couldn't be discerned, the rapier in his hand allowed Kisaragi to roughly guess the identity of this Servant.
The Ice Queen from Akame ga Kill!
Esdeath!
In that anime, she was known as the strongest general in the entire Empire, capable of fighting against over ten Imperial Arms users and a million-strong army by herself. Her Imperial Arm was [Demon Manifestation: Demon Extract], which allowed her to freely control ice, and she even developed the move "Mahapdama" which could freeze time and space.
According to her legend, this time-stopping power could only be used once a day, and its duration was very short.
From the moment time stopped, to Kisaragi Rin entering the Workshop, leaving the Workshop, and then parrying Berserker's sword, only two seconds had passed.
Having no time to ponder how Esdeath became a Heroic Spirit, Kisaragi Rin suggested to her, "How about we have a fairer duel? You lift the time stop and let my Servant fight you."
Unfortunately, stalling for time was impossible. Esdeath's class was Berserker, so she neither understood what Kisaragi was saying nor cared to know.
"Fight!" With a roar, hundreds of ice spears condensed in the air again, shooting towards Kisaragi Rin.
These ice spears were no longer simple chunks of ice, but imbued with magic, filled with extreme cold and a sense of brutality.
"Still a Berserker?"
This action revealed her class to Kisaragi Rin, which was both good news and bad news.
The good news was that Berserkers lacked reason; the bad news was that Berserkers were all about strength.
Aside from a certain Heroic Spirit named Heracles, the very existence of the Berserker class was about trading sanity for greater power.
"No wonder all her attributes are so terrifying. A Berserker-class Esdeath with time-stopping power, what kind of player created this thing?"
"However, without reason, stalling for time should be a bit simpler."
Behind the shadows, the Banner of Demons for the first time unleashed the power of its Fallen Domain in front of an enemy.
The indiscriminately covering ice spears produced a strange fluctuation, their speed suddenly plummeting. Shadow spears, as if alive, appeared simultaneously beside the ice spears—those were their shadows.
The power that originally belonged to Esdeath was brought to a standstill under the influence of this Fallen Domain. When the shadows merged into them, it was as if time reversed, and thousands of ice spears rebelled, turning back towards Esdeath.
Unfortunately, these rebellious ice spears could hardly pose a threat to Esdeath. The Imperial Arm called Demon Manifestation: Demon Extract had already transformed into a Noble Phantasm in the Fate World.
As if commanded by their master, more ice tore apart these rebels, turning them into falling dust.
Kisaragi Rin hadn't expected this to cause her any damage anyway. While using the Banner of Demons, he had already shifted in another direction.
This battle couldn't be fought here, otherwise, even a slight ripple would leave Medea and Lily, both fragile, with no hope of survival.
"The third second ends... Medea, I haven't betrayed you in this situation. It wouldn't be right if you don't let me touch your ear later..."
Estimating the time in his mind, Esdeath, clad in her heavy armor, appeared before Kisaragi Rin again.
Another sword strike, but this one extended an exaggerated ice blade, looking more like a cleaver. If hit, it would likely result in being cut in half at the waist.
The Banner of Demons floated in front of Kisaragi Rin, and Esdeath's shadow rose from the ground, attempting to surge into her body, but was blocked by the armor.
Synchronized with this was a soul attack. Esdeath paused for an instant, then her brutal soul and terrifying magic power once again broke through the restriction.
Shattering the shadow's restriction, Esdeath swung this sword with an unmatched oppressive force!
Suppressing the urge to use a Command Seal again, Kisaragi Rin used this brief obstruction to lean backward, as layers of shadows transformed into a living quagmire.
Unable to fully block it, Kisaragi Rin suffered another wound deep enough to expose his internal organs.
"Fourth second..."
Kisaragi Rin retreated expressionlessly, continuing to calculate the time in his mind.
Attribute suppression was just that unsolvable. Kisaragi Rin could instantly kill a Twelve Kizuki with high attributes, and Esdeath could naturally suppress Kisaragi Rin.
The Banner of Demons's difficulty in blocking was mainly due to Kisaragi's insufficient Intelligence attribute.
The effects of equipped items are diverse, and according to their usage, they can be roughly divided into two types.
One type is a constant effect, and the other depends on the user's situation.
A constant effect, such as Kisaragi Rin's equipment - Demonic Garment, its effect 1 is transformation, which can change the equipment into other appearances. Regardless of the user, the equipment effect remains constant.
The other type, for example, the spells Kisaragi Rin uses through the Banner of Demons, although the spells are the same, their specific power still depends on the user's own attributes.
It's somewhat unrealistic for Kisaragi, with his current 26 Intelligence, to want to contend with a fully equipped Heroic Spirit using just one piece of equipment. If this equipment were given to Medea, it might be able to unleash the effect of a Noble Phantasm.
Moreover, as a Berserker, Esdeath also possessed strong Magic Resistance, and with that heavy armor, her Magic Resistance and physical resistance were already maxed out.
Kisaragi Rin's thoughts raced, and Esdeath had already caught up again.
Because she had consistently failed to kill Kisaragi Rin, the brutality on this Berserker intensified.
Demon Manifestation: Demon Extract operated at full power, an indiscriminate cold current surged, and ice condensed out of thin air around Kisaragi Rin, compressing inward.
After completing the lockdown with ice, Esdeath's blade struck Kisaragi for the third time.
"Fifth second..."
All surrounding space was sealed, and Kisaragi Rin counted the time with a slight headache.
Jotaro Kujo's Star Platinum could only stop time for five seconds. Your Imperial Arm, which freezes time and space, still hasn't ended; do you want to reach the world's nine seconds?
"Should I use another Command Seal?"
Facing this unavoidable sword strike, Kisaragi Rin blocked with the Banner of Demons while asking himself.
Three of the five Command Seals had already been used, leaving Kisaragi Rin with only two.
Kisaragi Rin really didn't want to use Command Seals in such a place without even seeing the opponent's player.
Who were the opponents in this Holy Grail War?
The Hydra Captain who can revive, Saber with a scabbard, Esdeath who can stop time...
Although Kisaragi Rin also had bug-level Heroic Spirits, considering the three unrevealed classes and other players' unknown methods, Kisaragi still wanted to keep a Command Seal as a backup.
"So, how do I block this attack?"
The sound of ice shards scraping against his cheek reached Kisaragi Rin's ears as he looked at his unsealed Skill - Black Flash.
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