At this point, Haru believed it was a complete miracle that he hadn't died yet.
The reason? He was still fighting the Loli Assassin who was fully intent on mincing him to bits. Although, he did not escape unscathed. He had several cuts across his body. If he hadn't reinforced it and the Boosted Gear hadn't been increasing his strength, he'd likely be down one or more limbs right now.
It was through sheer dumb luck he was barely in one piece against a fast and stealthy servant like Assassin.
"Aw… please hold still, Mister! We can't mince you if you run around like that!" She pouted. If she hadn't been trying to kill him for the past few minutes, he would've viewed the sight as lethally adorable. Now? She's just plain lethal.
"That's the point!"
If he wasn't trying to dodge her attacks, he was minding his surroundings. He knew the second he fell back into the fog, he was a dead man. And it was a nightmare trying to avoid being killed by a tiny psycho kid while avoiding falling off a building. Reinforcement or no, a slip and fall on the head was like asking for death.
He ducked and weaved to the side and avoided another fatal wound before rounding on his heel to deliver a roundhouse kick. She evaded it easily and used his leg as a springboard, getting behind him and making another slash on his back. He gritted in pain and quickly moved away, raising his armored hand. "Gandr!" he roared as the air in front of him exploded.
Despite his rapid counterattack, Assassin reacted faster. Since she had been struck by the spell before, she knew that he would use it again and remained vigilant. Despite the spell missing, it gave him the brief reprieve he needed to step back and think.
Not far away, Altera was battling Ravel Phenex. The Devil was thankful for her ability to regenerate from any wound, as she realized very quickly that she was sorely mistaken. Despite having a human Master, Saber was not in the least-bit weak. She expected as much, really. The Saber-class Servant was always said to be one of the strongest of the seven, but she never could have imagined that Altera was so powerful. At first, she wondered if the Master must have had incredible reserves on par with the Devil, until she saw the Sacred Gear on his hand.
Being the avid reader she was, who made sure to study up on the competition her brother would face and the possibility of encountering potentially powerful enemies, she studied up on what information there was that the Devils knew about Sacred Gears.
The sketchings of Boosted Gear did not do the gauntlet justice. The fact that the human possessed a Longinus Sacred Gear terrified her, but there was a silver lining. She could see that, while he was trained, he was still a novice. That meant she could still take him down.
She just needed to distract Saber for a while longer. Unlike her brother, who endured any attack thrown at him for being confident in his ability to regenerate, Ravel preferred being on the cautious side. Especially given she was facing off against someone who was possibly well-known in myth and legend. She racked her brain, trying to discern the identity of the Servant before her, but she couldn't unravel the truth.
For now, all she could do was fight.
Rings of fire swirled around her hands as she threw them forward, watching as they spun and burned like saw wheels. Altera barely batted an eye as she cut through the flames with ease, then followed up by swinging her blade at her. She narrowly avoided the strike, but she couldn't evade the second strike. She hissed as she saw her arm suddenly go flying, though it was consumed by fire before it could touch the ground. As she put some distance between them, Ravel regrew her arm and flexed it.
"That makes the sixth limb I've cut off." Altera remarked. "I also know for certain that I cut through vital organs. Devil or no, wounds like that should be lethal. You are… different from other Devils." Her ruby eyes narrowed dangerously. "I once encountered a member of House Phenex, but I never had the opportunity to test his limits. I see now that his boasts of his family's regenerative ability were not exaggerations. However..."
She took a step forward. Ravel flinched and inched back.
"... How many tears can you shed before you finally fall?"
"Don't underestimate me!" She coalesced the flames in her hands into a burning bright ball that shone like the sun. Unlike before, sweat gathered on her brow as this technique was still a work in progress due to the concentration needed. But its power was well worth it. She quickly flung the burning sphere at the approaching Servant who barely batted an eye.
Even if she cuts through or evades it, I just need a second! Ravel thought, her eyes diverting to the red-haired human and potential threat engaging her Servant. Just one second!
Altera put a bit more effort into her swing, obliterating the gigantic fireball as if it was paper. Her eyes widened when she saw Ravel no longer facing her, but instead at Haru, dozens of smaller fireballs around her. Realizing what she planned on doing, she quickly moved to defend her Master and incapacitate the woman.
Except someone did it first.
Just as Ravel sent the fireballs forward, each of them bearing enough power to equal at least two tons of dynamite, they were all struck down by crescent arcs of jet black.
"What?!"
"And now, o kings, be ye wise."
All in attendance stopped. Altera turned her head and stared at the newcomer with wariness, feeling a sense of wrongness emanating from him. Assassin stopped her attempts to kill Haru and looked on curiously. Ravel's face paled and trembled. Haru stared at the new arrival with shock as his jaw figuratively kissed the ground.
"G-Gramps?!"
Emiya Shirou, or rather someone who looked very much like his grandfather, stood there and was garbed in dark clothing, thin silver blades with black edges between his fingers. His gold eyes stared at Ravel coldly, his steps echoing.
"Be admonished, ye judges of the earth. Serve the lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling."
A dark aura seeped from his form. Each time he stepped forward, he left behind a black footprint which began to push upward and writhe with shadowy limbs as if it were alive. Though he was dressed as one of the dangerous men of the cloth, the aura he expressed was anything but holy.
"Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, though his wrath be swiftly kindled." Kotomine Kiriya, Executioner of the Black Sect and child to Avenger, bared his teeth, looking more like shark fangs than actual pearly white. "Amen."