Takumi stared intently at Jack the Ripper in front of him, already breaking out in a cold sweat.
Just a little bit, if Takumi had reacted a bit slower, this journey to save the Human Order would have ended right there.
This was only because Takumi had intelligence and had never relaxed his vigilance about the surrounding situation from the beginning. Otherwise, an average Master who didn't bring a Shielder Heroic Spirit like Mash would already be lying on the ground.
Jack the Ripper. If discussing adaptability to the Assassin class, probably most of the Hassans couldn't compare to her.
She possessed the super-high level A+ rank [Presence Concealment]. Under hidden conditions, it was almost impossible to be discovered.
Not only that, but in foggy environments, she could trigger a deeper level of concealment. Basically, as long as she launched a sneak attack, she could seize the initiative. If the Servant's Master was also in the fog, there was a high probability of being killed upon encounter.
Based on these skills, she also possessed the [Information Erasure] skill, which could erase records of her abilities, True Name, appearance characteristics, and other intelligence from the enemy after disengaging from battle.
In other words, even if she failed once, she could repeat the previous action exactly, and the opponent wouldn't set up sufficient defenses against her.
With these three combined, she could totally be called a Master Killer. If the opponent's Master was female, the survival rate would be even lower.
The only fortunate thing was that this guy's stats weren't high. Like normal Assassins, she was at the bottom among Servants.
"So strange. Just now I should have hit. How exactly did you dodge?"
"Also, are you human? A Magus? Or a Servant? So strange, can't tell..."
Jack put a finger to her lips distressfully. As an illiterate, asking her to analyze this kind of thing was too difficult for her.
Thinking for a while but not understanding, she continued to look at Takumi and asked curiously:
"Hey, hey, can you help explain it to 'us'? Big Brother~"
Jack the Ripper's voice suddenly became like an innocent child, as if she wasn't the one who almost took Takumi's head off just now.
Takumi didn't speak, just holding the flag with both hands, assuming a stance, and looking at her in full battle array.
He didn't like answering opponents' questions, nor did he have the obligation.
"Eh~, not talking? Or are you mute? So boring..."
Not getting an answer for a long time, and seeing Takumi not attacking, Jack the Ripper was also somewhat baffled, so she sighed boringly.
Then she took out her scalpel daggers.
"Then let's fight first, Big Brother. Don't die too fast!"
Saying this, Jack the Ripper tapped the ground lightly with her toes. Her petite body became hard to distinguish under the cover of the fog. She launched an attack on Takumi like a swift black shadow.
'Speed... Didn't notice it when walking slowly before. Turns out this magical fog can also lower the enemy's Agility attribute...'
Takumi rotated the flagstaff, feeling his significantly slowed movements, and had a guess in his heart.
But it didn't matter. Takumi had no intention of launching an offense. Even if his Agility was lowered by a rank, blocking Jack the Ripper's attacks wasn't too difficult for him, who had been trained by Romulus and Hector.
Thinking this, the flagstaff had already moved to his abdomen, successfully blocking Jack's dagger.
Jack the Ripper's attacks were very hurried and swift, and every move carried deadly killing intent. The positions attacked were basically the heart, neck, eyes, and other parts that could defeat the enemy in one blow.
Although she looked small, her danger level was unexpectedly strong.
Clang!
Clang! Clang! ...
Rhythmic clashing sounds continued to ring out in the fog-shrouded streets.
Takumi stared at Jack the Ripper's movements while adjusting his actions, occasionally using the momentum to use the [Disengage] skill to reset his stance.
Using the speed of Servants, the battle between the two went from one end of the street to the other, surprisingly giving a pleasing feeling to the eye.
But it just looked cool. Takumi's fighting style was actually more formulaic and mainly defensive. Probably anyone fighting Takumi would find it very boring.
"Ah, so boring. Big Brother, you seem a bit too uninteresting."
Sure enough, Jack, feeling like she was fighting an iron turtle, lost interest after just a dozen moves.
Like a child tired of playing with a certain toy, she cast a disgusted glance at Takumi.
"Not playing with you anymore, boring Big Brother."
Jack the Ripper seemed to sense something, glanced in a certain direction, then jumped backward, disappearing into the thick fog.
Takumi didn't put away his stance immediately but stood in place observing carefully for a while. Only after confirming she had indeed left did his tense muscles finally relax.
So, the question is, if one knows all the opponent's intelligence from the beginning, will the [Information Erasure] skill still take effect?
The answer is negative.
Takumi's understanding of Jack the Ripper wasn't affected at all. His brain clearly knew who the enemy he just fought was.
Takumi, who proved this judgment standard with his own body, breathed a sigh of relief.
He was quite worried that the intelligence he knew would be indiscriminately erased. But fortunately, it seemed that knowing the intelligence in advance directly broke her [Information Erasure], and her skill no longer affected Takumi.
"Hmm? Just heard sounds of fighting. Why is there only one person left as soon as I arrived?"
Dressed in heavy silver-red armor and holding a silver greatsword of the same color scheme, Mordred walked out of the thick fog, looking around suspiciously.
"Haha, could it be because they knew I was coming, so they ran away directly?"
Mordred grinned, joking.
Although using a joking tone, she still lifted her nose triumphantly.
"That's probably exactly it. As soon as you came, that Assassin ran away."
Seeing the target he was looking for right in front of him, Takumi relaxed a lot, even having the mood to follow Mordred's words.
"Hmm, although I don't know who you are, you suit my taste quite well!"
Hearing this, Mordred immediately became interested and started sizing up Takumi standing in front of her.
Clothes not quite fitting this era, holding a flag that smelled like a Noble Phantasm...
"Doesn't feel like a Servant, but has a Servant feeling. A Magus? The temperament isn't quite like one. So a Demi-Servant? But the power on you is more than one..."
Analyzing as she looked, Mordred confused herself but still didn't figure out Takumi's complex composition.
"No, what are you?"
Mordred gave up thinking, looking at Takumi with surprise.
Stared at like this, Takumi was also somewhat awkward. Walking all this way, he accepted quite a few Servant Spirit Origins. The power was messy as hell. Let alone Mordred, even Takumi himself couldn't quite explain the whys and wherefores.
Unable to explain clearly in a short time, Takumi was too lazy to explain much. Rolling up the sleeve of his right hand, he showed Mordred the pattern that could best prove his identity.
"Takumi, an ordinary Chaldea Master. Please treat me well."