Anguish.
For Sakura Kyoko, no slander could cut deeper than this.
She'd done nothing wrong, and they'd branded her a "murderer."
All because of a one-sided accusation.
CLANG!
Her spear couldn't breach the Knightmare's energy shield. Her thorn chains were deflected just the same. She couldn't reach the enemy inside.
CRASH!!
The sounds behind her were no more reassuring.
"Jonouchi!"
"Relax, I'm fine."
Glancing at the other fight, Kyoko's emotions were dangerously close to spiraling. Hearing his response brought a brief wave of relief.
"Tch."
Spinning her spear to refocus, Kyoko steeled herself against the looming Knightmare.
She couldn't afford any more distractions. One lapse and an opening would be exploited.
Though Rider's mech had defensive measures, they weren't foolproof.
"Honestly, one at a time would be manageable. All at once is a different story."
The Flame Swordsman could only handle one opponent. Fighting two simultaneously meant constant vigilance against flanking attacks.
Without a second monster, Jonouchi couldn't hold this front.
'But should I summon Time Wizard right now?'
Surveying the situation, Jonouchi had already parsed the enemy's purpose.
Sakura Kyoko, "murdering civilians" and triggering a manhunt? He'd never believe such nonsense.
That girl wouldn't do it even if she were dying. That was how much Jonouchi trusted her.
He couldn't vouch for much in life, but when it came to believing in his friends, Jonouchi was absolute.
"Can you move, Assassin?"
Saber checked on Kenshin, who was testing his sword arm.
"Yes. That magecraft he used wasn't permanent. It faded after a short while."
The strange binding force had dissipated.
The attack-sealing spell was genuinely troublesome, though. Without Saber stepping in, he'd have been in real danger.
"So Caster and Lancer really are allied. We stumbled into the truth by accident."
They hadn't expected this when arriving. Had it just been Lancer alone, this many combatants would have ended things quickly.
"Eliminating both here is the most efficient outcome."
Though Kirei had initially ordered restraint, that last trick from Caster had genuinely stoked Kenshin's killing intent.
For every faction, the Caster-Lancer alliance was an unpredictable variable.
"Hah!"
"Hyah!"
Both dashed forward.
"Heh. Saw you coming!"
"Trap card, activate!"
"[Attack Nullification]!"
Already anticipating their approach, Jonouchi didn't flinch. As both Servants charged, he flipped his remaining set card.
"Go! Flame Swordsman, now!"
"What?!"
"!"
A crushing weight locked their limbs. The blazing warrior was already swinging. Saber and Kenshin registered the same nauseating feeling: the inability to attack.
"Tch!"
They managed a guard with holy sword and divine blade, but the fiery detonation still blasted both backward.
"So that's his magecraft."
"What a terrifying ability."
The mid-combat paralysis was utterly debilitating. One misstep could be fatal.
"Heh. Underestimating the great Jonouchi Katsuya is a mistake you don't wanna make."
"I'm not going down that easy."
Jabbing a thumb at his own chest, Jonouchi declared with pride.
"..."
On a distant rooftop, rifle braced and scope locked onto Caster, Kiritsugu hesitated.
"Three unidentified cards remain on that device."
"Not yet."
In his assessment, Caster was a Heroic Spirit from the "future." Nothing else could explain those bizarre implements.
Sealing familiars and spells into cards, deploying them at will. A technique surpassing both ancient and modern magecraft.
"No other Masters have arrived."
"Caster and Lancer..."
A suspicion formed. Kiritsugu's frown deepened.
A Masterless Lancer and a Caster whose Master had never surfaced. Their alliance hinted at something he hadn't yet uncovered.
And given Lancer's sustained magical energy throughout the fight...
His earlier assumption that she'd be eliminated by mana depletion was wrong.
His eyelid twitched. He lowered the rifle and deliberated.
"Perhaps a greater distance would be prudent."
"What is--?!"
BOOM!!
Grabbing Waver and ejecting from the cockpit, Lelouch narrowly evaded thorn chains that had pierced clean through the Knightmare's interior.
"What happened, Rider?!"
Waver had no idea why the mech's defenses had failed.
"Caster's magecraft, most likely."
The mana signature he'd felt just before ejecting was unmistakably Caster's.
Lelouch hadn't anticipated Lancer possessing one of Caster's spells.
His reflexes had barely saved them. A heartbeat slower, and they'd have been done.
"Jonouchi's cards really are incredible. They're practically the same as true magic."
Standing at the breach, spear in hand, Kyoko smiled in satisfaction.
[Dark Hole]
The card Jonouchi had given her had produced an unexpectedly devastating effect.
On a whim, she'd used it against Rider.
The result: the previously impenetrable Knightmare had been forced open, and its occupants ejected.
"The outcome is decided!"
Looking down at the two below, Kyoko shouted triumphantly.
"Sore wa dō kana." (That remains to be seen.)
"What?!"
Lelouch's casual response made Kyoko freeze. She noticed something restless beneath her feet.
"This--?!"
A thunderous detonation erupted from inside the Knightmare. Smoke and flame billowed outward.
"Waaaah!!"
Clinging to Lelouch's coat for dear life, Waver watched the mech disintegrate before his eyes.
"My apologies. I'd anticipated someone might breach the defenses, so I planted mines under the cockpit seat some time ago."
"That spell you borrowed from Caster doesn't seem to work on those."
The Knightmare's destruction didn't bother Lelouch in the slightest. If it could severely wound or kill the opponent, it was a net gain.
"We've been sitting on top of landmines this whole time?!!"
Waver shrieked in horror.
The thought of mines directly beneath them was retroactively terrifying.
"Bllegh..."
Already blasted clear, Kyoko lay on the ground, battered and bleeding.
"Sakura!"
Seeing her crumpled form, Jonouchi abandoned his fight against Kenshin and Saber and rushed over without hesitation.
"It's bad..."
"Hey. Wake up."
For the first time, he saw the girl this severely injured. He knelt and called her name.
"Jo... nouchi..."
"Yeah?"
"I didn't... do it..."
Lifting her up, seeing the blood streaking her body, hearing those stubborn words, Jonouchi lowered his head and smiled quietly.
"Yeah, I know."
"You'd never do something like that."
"I believe you."
Understanding exactly what she meant, Jonouchi answered without a second's hesitation.
The dependable young man laid her gently on the ground, and at his side, a small creature materialized, a tiny monster clutching a miniature staff.
"Rest up and recover. Leave the rest to me."
"I'll beat every single one of them!"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]