Slam!
Kiritsugu's fist struck the table. For a brief, uncharacteristic moment, his composure slipped.
He had underestimated the Holy Grail War.
Bringing Irisviel along had been partly her own wish, partly because he genuinely believed her presence would help. But barely a day in, and things had already spiraled this badly.
From Saber's account, Irisviel had most likely been taken by Assassin. In the worst case, the scabbard would be discovered as well, which would immediately give away Saber's true name.
The aerial bombardment from the sky, that had been the true game-changer. Without it, Assassin's appearance alone wouldn't have pushed them this far onto the back foot.
"The best course of action now is to find Assassin's location as quickly as possible and retrieve Irisviel."
Both the woman herself and the scabbard were indispensable assets.
"I'll help."
Her relationship with Kiritsugu was far from friendly, but Saber refused to tolerate this humiliation. The person she had sworn to protect had not only been wounded but abducted.
How could the King of Knights stand idle?
She would take back what was hers, no matter the cost.
"Assassin can't be in good shape either. Ideally, we finish the assault today."
Given the new operation, Kiritsugu had no choice but to cooperate with Saber. After witnessing last night's battle firsthand, he held no illusions about his ability to handle an unknown battlefield alone.
"First priority: find Assassin and his Master's location."
"Rider, even in modern clothes, you're way too conspicuous."
"True. I certainly don't look Japanese."
"You'd stand out even among foreigners..."
Watching Lelouch strolling through the bustling streets, Waver couldn't help but worry.
It was simple: Rider's appearance was a magnet for attention. That refined bearing, those elegant movements, those striking features. He looked like a prince straight out of a fairy tale.
Claiming he wouldn't be noticed would be absurd.
"Don't worry. In a crowd like this, nothing will happen."
In a plaza this packed, any Servant who dared attack would draw the kind of attention that concerned the Church, not them.
"Hmm?"
"I'm sensing a flow of magical energy..."
But just then, Waver detected an anomaly nearby and turned to look.
"It seems Servants are clashing somewhere."
"A pity..."
Lelouch took a sip of his black tea, glancing downward with a note of regret. He had been hoping to bait some reckless Servant with the daring of a Suzaku into attacking, having prepared a special welcome.
But it seemed that wouldn't be necessary today.
"Let's go."
"Oh, right!"
"This thing... is that a Servant?"
Twirling the spear in her hand, casual attire unchanged, Sakura Kyoko eyed the figure before her: a figure encased in black armor with a battle axe strapped to its right arm.
She'd only been passing through this alley before the ambush struck.
Boom!!
Clang!
The force behind its swings was within her tolerance. She could handle this level of attack easily enough. But its combat instincts were surprisingly sharp.
"That's not a Servant."
"It should be a familiar, but to control one this sophisticated... only a magecraft-specialist Caster could manage that."
From a distance, Kayneth, observing through his familiar, identified the opponent.
"Its raw power can't match Lancer's, but it's remarkably tenacious."
Even without Kayneth's commentary, Sola as Master could sense the problem on her own.
"Heh, not bad for a post-meal workout."
Making light of the situation, Kyoko wasn't about to look helpless in front of those two.
She thrust her spear forward. The figure twisted at the waist, dodging the direct hit.
"Too bad."
"Dodging alone won't save you."
The spear that had shot past suddenly bent mid-shaft, whipping around like a nunchaku and slamming into the figure's side.
Crack!
Shatter!
Like glass being pulverized, the familiar splintered and vanished.
"Huh? That fragile?"
"One hit and it's gone."
Kyoko stared at the aftermath, puzzled. Despite its impressive-looking gear, its actual durability was paper-thin.
"I see, so this is how battles work here?"
A voice emerged from around an empty corner. Kyoko turned to find a blond young man stepping into view.
"You're that familiar's owner?"
"Not a Master."
"So you must be the Caster?"
Leveling her spear at him one-handed, Kyoko didn't know why this guy had the confidence to show his face. But it suited her just fine.
"Eh, I don't really get the rules around here."
"The role assigned to me is definitely some 'Cas-' something."
"But that doesn't matter. We're both after the same thing, right?"
Pulling out a Dragon Ball, Jonouchi flashed a grin.
"Hey, just hand it over nice and easy."
"Not a chance."
"Something's off."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
Kayneth's words caught Sola's attention as they sat in the car, exchanging observations.
"That Dragon Ball. Normally, it should be held by the Master."
"You told me before that its significance is similar to Command Spells."
"That's right."
"But setting aside the fact that Caster is the one holding the Dragon Ball, why would a mage-class Servant dare to face Lancer, one of the Three Knight Classes, directly?"
From the data they'd gathered, Caster's parameters were far below Lancer's in every category, save Luck. Even in Magical Energy, which should have been Caster's forte, Lancer actually scored higher.
Under these circumstances, for him to willingly reveal himself reeked of a trap.
'Lancer, finish him quickly! It could be an ambush!'
The realization hit Sola, and she immediately urged her Servant through their link.
"We should pull back too."
To avoid a repeat of last night's bombardment, Kayneth refused to take chances.
"Strutting out like that? Then don't blame me!"
Facing the Caster before her, Kyoko had zero intention of holding back. Her spear whirled, poised to strike.
"Oh wait..."
"Just now... you declared an attack, right?"
Unfazed, Jonouchi stood with his hands on his hips, grinning triumphantly.
"!"
In that instant, Kyoko realized she couldn't move. Her body locked in place.
"What?!"
She looked down. Strange hexagrammal magic circles had materialized on both her arms.
"Spellbinding Circle!"
Rings of light encircled her like chains, binding her tight. Everything below the shoulders was sealed; only her legs retained marginal freedom.
"That's your magecraft?"
Instilled with basic war knowledge, Kyoko had never encountered anything like this. She hadn't seen him make a single move before the trap engaged.
And to that, Jonouchi responded with full confidence:
"The instant you declared your attack, the trap was already triggered."
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]
PS: By the way, I'll put any necessary annotations at the end from now on.
[Spellbinding Circle]: Select one monster on the opponent's field to activate. The selected monster cannot attack nor change its battle position. When the selected monster is destroyed, this card is also destroyed.
In practice, it seals the opponent's normal attacks. Think of it as a "disarm." For opponents who specialize in close combat, this is the worst possible counter.