Boom!
The explosion below was visible from the top of the clock tower, flames and smoke rising into the night. Having just loosed an arrow, the Shogun did not pause—her hands were already setting another long arrow onto the string.
Crackle—!
The moment the bow, Thundering Pulse, was drawn, lightning surged along its string, gathering in dazzling intensity around the arrow.
"Shogun… did it work?"
Beside her, Fiore lifted her gaze toward the blazing city streets and asked.
"It struck true… but not fatally. The enemy has lost mobility, however."
The Shogun answered calmly, then loosed another arrow with a sharp swish.
"I see… And Saber?"
"She evaded the first strike. Her skill with the sword is not to be underestimated."
Just as expected, this second shot was intercepted—the opponent had been prepared. The arrow achieved nothing but to expose their location. Yet this, too, was within their plan…
If all went as predicted… Assassin would retreat, and Saber would charge straight for them. Just like now.
From atop the sixty-four-meter tower, they could clearly see a streak of red light surging from afar, rushing toward them like a raging crimson dragon.
"…Target has withdrawn."
Sensing Assassin's disappearance, the Shogun spoke softly to Fiore.
"Mm. Then as planned, we'll shift our focus to Red's Saber. Shogun, I'll leave Saber to you. I'll deal with her Master—Kairi Sisigou."
The best outcome from the earlier arrow would have been a double kill. But plans rarely kept pace with reality, and Fiore had already accounted for this in her alternate strategy.
Hearing her words, the Shogun turned her eyes on her Master. For just an instant, her movements—meant to intercept Saber—stalled.
"U-um… wh-what is it?"
Caught under her gaze, Fiore flushed slightly, asking in a low voice.
"…Can you truly manage it?"
The Shogun's tone carried uncertainty.
"Eh?"
"In combat… you intend to face the enemy's Master yourself. Will that be alright?"
Her eyes drifted meaningfully toward Fiore's legs, suspended powerless in the air. In such a state… how could she fight?
Not even a second had passed, and Fiore, unaware of the subtle hesitation, only smiled faintly.
"Hehe… Is the Shogun worried for me? I'm glad. But rest assured—I'll be fine. I'll stall Sisigou so you can focus on Saber."
Because that was her role as the Shogun's Master—her partner in battle.
"I see… In that case, I'll say no more. But… do not push yourself needlessly."
The unspoken meaning was clear: if danger came, call her, and she would appear.
"Mm, I understand."
Clack—!
Boom!
The very next moment, Fiore hurled herself from the sixty-four-meter tower, borne aloft by her mechanical claws without restraint!
A fall that would reduce any normal human to pulp was nothing to her now. Like a hunting leopard, her mechanical talons dug into the walls in quick succession, sparks flying as she descended, until she landed with perfect balance upon the rooftops. Then, with long mechanical strides, she charged straight toward Kairi.
"—!"
From the street below, Mordred spotted her figure and moved to intercept. But the Shogun did not allow it.
Another arrow was nocked, loosed unhesitatingly at Mordred's head!
Swish!
Mordred's instincts flared. She abandoned her strike at Fiore and gritted her teeth, swinging her crimson-lit sword at the oncoming thunderbolt arrow.
Boom!
The explosion scattered smoke and sparks. Through it, the red Saber burst forth, racing with beastlike speed across rooftops, leaping onto the wall of the tower, and sprinting vertically upward toward the Shogun's position.
The Shogun tilted her head slightly, watching the armored knight claw her way up the sheer wall like a rabid hound. Her eyes narrowed. Then she calmly drew again, bowstring humming with violet lightning as she loosed another arrow straight downward.
Crackle—!
The lightning-charged shaft shot forth from the bowstring, streaking like a thunderbolt toward Mordred below!
The arrow split apart mid-flight into multiple violet beams, raining down toward Mordred from every angle!
"Tch!"
Clicking her tongue, Mordred's body blurred into crimson light, weaving through the incoming beams at blistering speed. Explosions burst around her, smoke and dust cloaking her form… until she suddenly leapt free of the haze, springing straight to the top of the tower—right before the Shogun's eyes. For that brief instant, their gazes locked.
Violet lightning surged in the Shogun's eyes, while Mordred's green gaze burned with fury and defiance. One pair was cold and merciless, the other blazing with rage.
"Damn it… Just looking you in the eye pisses me off!! Bastard!!"
Mordred roared, her blade swirling with crimson mana until it became a raging vortex, which she slashed furiously at the violet-haired woman before her.
The Shogun showed no change in expression. In the instant the blow descended, her figure dissolved into lightning.
Boom!!
Mordred's strike smashed into the clock tower below, detonating in a fiery blast that turned the structure into a blazing torch. Even Kairi's bounded field could do nothing against destruction on this scale.
Reappearing behind her foe, the Shogun released an arrow point-blank into Mordred's back.
Bang!
Mordred reacted instantly, blocking with her sword across her chest. The Shogun leapt back lightly, then bent into a back-arching dive off the ruined tower. Mid-fall, she nocked and loosed another arrow upward at her foe.
Clash!
Mordred deflected it with a sweep of her sword, then launched herself from the tower as well, bracing her feet against the wall and sprinting downward in pursuit.
Still in descent, the Shogun vanished into lightning once more, reappearing upon the rooftop opposite. There, she loosed a final arrow—not at Mordred, but into the heavens.
Whoosh!
The thunderbolt arrow pierced the sky. Instantly, the clouds above churned with surging light.
Crackle!
A heartbeat later, countless lightning pillars poured down from the stormy heavens!
And yet, as expected of a Saber—Mordred was undaunted. Dodging through the fiery gaps, the armored knight tore through the thunderous onslaught, breaking past the storm to stand once again before the Shogun.
How different she was from that loudmouthed green-haired punk before…
Tap, tap…
Mordred stepped forward, unfastening her helmet to reveal her true face.
"Hey… You're supposed to be Saber, right? So what's with the bow? Stop looking down on me, damn it!!"
Her furious shout rang out.
"As you wish."
The Shogun remained unmoved by the provocation. Calmly, she released the bow Thundering Pulse into motes of light. Then, interlacing her fingers, she drew forth a storm of violet lightning between her palms.
As her hands spread apart, the storm took form—a naginata wreathed in violet thunder. Lightning swirled about her body as she vanished into a bolt of light, reappearing instantly before Mordred.
"—!"
Mordred's eyes went wide. Even she couldn't keep up with that speed!
"You're too slow."
The Shogun's voice was low as her naginata descended mercilessly toward Mordred's head.
"Tch!"
Mordred gritted her teeth, stepping back and raising her sword horizontally to catch the strike.
Crash!
The impact shook the rooftop, nearly collapsing it beneath them.
The Shogun's expression never changed. Twisting her wrist, she slid the naginata's blade sideways across Mordred's weapon, aiming to shear into her grip.
Shriek!!
Steel ground against steel with a piercing screech. Mordred narrowed her eyes against the sparks, flipping her sword upright to catch the naginata against her crossguard.
Seeing the opening, Mordred lashed out with her leg, trying to sweep the Shogun. But the Shogun's eyes flicked down once, and her right leg snapped back instantly, her counter-kick slamming into Mordred's knee.
Thud!
Mordred blocked with her leg, the two of them forcing apart with a clash. The kick drove her backward, sending the two combatants skidding to opposite ends of the rooftop.
And as they separated, behind the Shogun the Chakra Desiderata slowly unfolded, the wheel of all wishes and a hundred eyes opening in silence.