At this point in the competition, half of the schedule had passed. Asuna Yuuki, the leader, had already cleared the twenty-fifth level. The competition among the seven Masters was gradually becoming more chaotic and joyful.
Megumin returned to the track and continued her revenge against Kenneth. After being careless twice in a row, Megumin became more cautious and managed to avoid being knocked out again. However, despite the danger, Kenneth remained strong with the help of his Volumen Hydrargyrum. Even when Megumin managed to knock him off balance, he used the mercury to grab the platform and pull himself back before falling into the water, as if his whole body were glued to the track.
In this way, the ranking remained deadlocked until the end. Because Flora acted as a gatekeeper, blocking the pressure from behind without attacking the leader, Asuna Yuuki easily won first place. Flora followed closely to take second place. Kenneth struggled to secure third place despite Megumin's persistence.
The fourth place went not to Megumin, nor to Alice Nakiri who was close behind, but to Kiritsugu Emiya, who suddenly accelerated at the very end and overtook them. As a result, Megumin and Alice were ranked fifth and sixth, respectively.
As for Waver? After being let go by Kiritsugu, he collapsed in the middle of the road from exhaustion and did not continue the game. He was considered a semi-forfeit.
"Boy, are you okay?"
Iskandar approached Waver, who looked as if he had given up on treatment and lost all hope. He stopped his usual preaching about "tempering steel" and spoke with genuine concern.
"Do I look like I'm okay?" Waver complained with great resentment.
Iskandar looked at Waver's bruised nose and swollen face, as well as the varying degrees of injuries all over his body, and scratched his head in embarrassment. This kid had been chased by Kiritsugu for half the game and was utterly exhausted. Not only was he tired, but he had also been battered by rubber bullets; no part of his body was intact. He was miserable.
Thinking of this, Iskandar couldn't help but complain: "You too... it's not good to mess with just anyone. Why did you have to offend the worst person possible?"
"Can you please stop making sarcastic remarks? I can no longer handle these injuries myself."
Waver regretted it deeply. He regretted his earlier arrogance and his death wish in provoking Kiritsugu Emiya. Now look at him. Not only had he ended up in a miserable state, but he also had no magical energy left to heal himself, so he could only endure the pain silently.
Seeing this, Iskandar remembered business and handed over a test tube. "Here, this is the elixir I asked the organizer for. That Flora girl said you just need to drink one for your injuries."
Waver quickly took it, not caring if there was anything suspicious about the medicine, and took a sip.
Then...
Waver sat up in shock. Dying on the spot just a moment ago, he was instantly resurrected to full health.
"Hiss, there is something about this medicine. It actually works so fast."
Waver stood up and moved his limbs. Not only his face, but all the injuries over his body were instantly healed. He looked at the remaining half of the tube with surprise, quickly capped the stopper, and put it away carefully, fearing they might ask for it back.
When Iskandar saw this, he couldn't help curling his lips. "Tsk, look at your virtue. They said this was given to you."
"Shut up," Waver replied in annoyance.
Aside from this, the situation for the other groups was similar. Those with injuries healed, and those without rested. After resting for half an hour, the second event—the Servant Competition—began.
The terrain in the arena changed again, transforming into a huge gladiatorial ring with seven entrances and exits on the edge. Outside each entrance was a table with ten balloons tied to ropes.
"In the second event, the Servant Competition, the rules are also very simple. Everyone fights in this arena, but the goal is not to hit people, but to hit balloons. Each of the seven Servants has ten balloons. Every time they go on stage, they need to tie a balloon to their body. If the balloon is popped, they have to step down to rest. They can only continue to compete if they tie on a new balloon. If all ten balloons are used up, they are eliminated."
"What everyone has to do is protect their own balloons and pop other people's balloons as much as possible. Each balloon you pop earns one point, and the ranking will be determined according to the final score."
Nero stood in the ring, looking at the other six Heroic Spirits. "Does everyone understand?"
The Servants nodded after a slight delay.
Nero smiled with satisfaction. "Then, the game begins!"
She chose an entrance, took a balloon, and tied it to herself. Seeing this, the others also took action. Then, a somewhat funny scene occurred. There was an extra tail behind the seven Heroic Spirits. The balloons swaying behind them formed a sharp contrast with their armed appearances.
However...
"Hello! Big guy, are you cheating? How do you want us to fight?! That's mean!" Okita Souji pointed at Iskandar and protested angrily.
Iskandar had played a trick immediately after entering the ring—he covered the balloon with his cloak. Leaving aside whether the cloak could physically protect the balloon, the main issue was that one couldn't even see where the balloon was from the outside.
In response to Okita's protest, Iskandar just shrugged. "This is my means of protection, and there are no rules saying you can't do this."
Ah, this...
Hearing his words, all the Heroic Spirits quickly looked at Nero. But Nero's eyes lit up. She fabricated props on the spot and also got a cloak to put on herself, covering the balloon behind her.
"..." The other five fell silent. Even the rule-maker did it; could it still be considered a foul?
Okita Souji quickly covered her balloon with her Shinsengumi haori, and the Assassin Kiritsugu on the other side also covered his balloon with his scarf. At this time, there were only three people in the field who had exposed balloons: Vlad III, Arash, and Diarmuid.
Looking at the four people eyeing them eagerly, the three couldn't help but feel a lot of pressure. They also wanted to hide their balloons, but they didn't have the attire for it.
Diarmuid hesitated for a moment but finally decided to strike first. He suddenly took action, wielding his dual spears and rushing toward Okita Souji, who was nearest to him. Seeing this, Vlad III followed suit and charged at Assassin.
However, what they didn't expect was...
Pop! Pop!
Following two soft sounds, the movements of the two attackers instantly became awkward.
"..."
Seeing the ropes hanging down at their feet due to the broken balloons, they both looked at Arash behind them in confusion.
Arash slowly lowered his longbow and said with a smile, "I'm sorry, this is not a team battle. If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for turning your backs to me."
Arash took the lead and scored two points!
"Asshole! You actually attacked me from behind? I will remember you," Vlad said a harsh word in anger, then walked dejectedly off the ring. The masked Diarmuid just glanced at Arash and walked away without saying anything.
There were only five people left on the scene. Arash faced the four who were watching him eagerly, but he looked relaxed and not nervous at all. Because he had already profited. Even if he lost this life, he had earned two points—a one-for-two trade without losing any blood.
Moreover, he had earned more than two points...
Bang!
The four people who were about to attack Arash stopped and looked in surprise at Arash, who had popped his own balloon.
Arash smiled and said, "The rules didn't say I couldn't commit suicide, so does this make it three points?"
What the hell?! Is there such a way to play?!
Everyone looked at Nero again.
"Uh... this..." Nero didn't expect such a situation. She hesitated, then nodded. "The rules don't say that you can't commit suicide, nor that you can't score points by popping your own balloon."
So, Arash really got three points at once.
When the others heard this, they immediately cast scrutinizing looks at Arash. Even Iskandar, who had been cheating from the beginning, did not expect that there was someone smarter than him. The total points in the entire game were limited to the seventy balloons held by the seven Servants. However, Arash directly scored three points in this wave. This efficiency was outrageous.
If this rhythm of "three points per life" continued, then Arash could win nearly half the points in the end. The remaining points would be fought over by six people, and Arash, having secured nearly half, would virtually book first place!
Thinking of this, everyone looked at Arash with hostility. As the saying goes, the bird that sticks out gets shot; Arash had successfully attracted everyone's attention.
"Oops, I really messed it up." Arash, walking down from the ring, noticed the hostility. He understood that he was going to be targeted by everyone, and he couldn't help but have a headache.
The remaining four people in the field were not idle either. Although everyone tacitly decided to focus on Arash next, they still had to compete with each other.
Iskandar took the lead, summoning his Gordius Wheel chariot, racing around the ring and running rampant. Nero couldn't dodge in time and was knocked out, the balloon on her body exploding. But at the last moment, she used her magic cannon to blow Okita Souji away, destroying Okita's balloon as well.
Only Assassin was left in the field. Iskandar turned the front of the chariot and charged at him. Although Assassin had high agility, his two legs couldn't outrun a Rider with a vehicle. Just as he was about to be hit, Assassin learned from Arash and committed suicide to save the point.
After one round, Arash had three points, while Iskandar, Nero, and Assassin each had one. Iskandar still had his balloon intact, while the others had each lost a life.
But a new problem arose. Looking at Iskandar racing around the ring, no one among the six wanted to come on stage immediately. Because Iskandar was so powerful, he had a massive advantage. Although Arash and Nero had long range, Iskandar could close the distance instantly. The speed and maneuverability of the chariot gave Iskandar super aggressiveness; he was almost invincible.
Except for Arash and Nero, whose long-range attacks could threaten him, the remaining four would be knocked away if they faced the charging chariot.
"Hahahaha, what's wrong? Don't you even dare to come up? Do you need me to stop first?" Iskandar circled a few times, and seeing no one coming up, he smiled proudly.
"Hmph, don't be too proud. Your only support is the chariot under your feet. Watch me overturn it."
Vlad III was mocked, so he snorted coldly and stepped onto the ring.
Then...
"Kazikli Bey!"
Rumble!
Long bloody stakes rose from the ground, spreading all over the arena like a forest of spears.
"Um? Whoa!"
Iskandar was startled. He quickly pulled the reins, trying to brake, but failed to stop in time and crashed into the stakes.
Boom!
Iskandar staggered under the impact and fell out of the chariot.
"Good chance!"
Arash saw the balloon exposed on Iskandar's body due to the fall and immediately went on stage, drawing his bow to steal the kill.
But...
Diarmuid followed closely behind and rushed up quickly, arriving in front of Arash.
"Pay the price for your actions!"
Two spears, one red and one yellow, stabbed at Arash in tandem.
"Tsk... Troublesome."
Arash had to give up the attack on Iskandar. He waved his longbow to deflect Diarmuid's stab and retreated.
At this time, a figure suddenly appeared behind Arash and cut through his balloon with a knife.
Bang!
"Where did you come from?"
Arash was stunned, looking at Assassin who had appeared quietly. Even Diarmuid was shocked.
I know your Presence Concealment is strong, but this level of invisibility is too outrageous! And you are invisible under the sun in broad daylight!
"..."
Assassin would not explain anything to them. He took a step back and disappeared again.
"Hiss~!"
Arash and Diarmuid gasped when they saw him vanish into thin air. If this were a real killing match, they wouldn't fear mere stealth; Assassins usually die once revealed. But this was a balloon fight. Everyone had a fatal weakness exposed. In this case, an Assassin could easily eliminate other Heroic Spirits just by popping the balloon with one blow.
This was too simple for Assassins, especially those with super stealth abilities like this Counter Guardian. Assassin had a massive advantage; his sneak attacks were deadly and hard to guard against.
As expected. Just as Diarmuid realized this and tried to be alert, Assassin suddenly appeared from behind him again and struck quickly with a dagger.
Pop!
Double kill!
Diarmuid's face turned dark under his mask. He hadn't even started scoring yet, and he had already lost his second life.
But then, he couldn't care about that anymore. Not only him, but Iskandar, Vlad III, and even Okita Souji and Nero who had just returned to the stage... everyone was patronized by Assassin.
Assassin was like a God of Death, quietly appearing behind everyone and delivering a fatal blow. He marked everyone and was everywhere at once, quickly scoring six kills!
"..."
Damn it! Is this really the weak class Assassin?!
The six Heroic Spirits returned to the stage, looking at Assassin standing there with shocked expressions. At this moment, their knowledge of the Assassin class was refreshed.
After Arash and Iskandar, Assassin had become everyone's latest public enemy. Because of the point he had previously gained by suicide, Assassin now had seven points—more than double Arash's three. If he wasn't targeted, first place would be his.
However, Assassin was not easy to target. As soon as others came on stage, this guy cleverly went invisible. Except for seizing opportunities to sneak attack, he never appeared. In addition to the psychological pressure, he avoided being targeted because no one knew where he was.
Unless they cleared the ground with firepower, there was absolutely no way to defeat him.
In that case... let's cover it with firepower!
"Laus St. Claudius!"
Nero unleashed her Noble Phantasm, initiating carpet bombing on the entire ring.
Boom~~~!
Magic cannons fell like raindrops, covering the entire arena. Leaving aside Assassin, the others couldn't help but curse. Those who reacted slowly were defeated by Nero directly, and those who reacted quickly committed suicide to save points. In short, the entire arena was swept clean.
Assassin's killing streak was finally ended.
But soon, Assassin returned to the stage, and the hunt continued.
Then...
"Laus St. Claudius!"
Hunting, bombing, hunting, bombing. This cycle of "you sing, I appear" continued until the end of the game.