In truth, EMIYA had been worrying too much.
Enki, Swords of the End was an EX-ranked Noble Phantasm. Fused together, the twin blades were terrifying—but split apart, they were simply swords: impossibly sharp, impossibly durable.
Of course, that "simply" was measured on the scale of an EX-class Noble Phantasm. Even among famed spears and legendary blades, it stood at the very pinnacle. At the very least, cutting apart the shoddy weapons EMIYA projected was no trouble at all.
In the forest, flashes of steel and streaks of light flickered without end.
EMIYA flickered to Ophis's flank and carved a precise slash toward her.
As expected, it was easily knocked aside by a sweep of black blade-light.
His other knife, meant to follow through in the opening, was stopped as the black sword snapped back into guard.
The attack failed. EMIYA instantly shifted position, slipping away from Ophis's counter.
When the rain of Noble Phantasms chased after him, EMIYA answered with a storm of projected swords.
But in the next moment, Ophis's barrage punched through his sword-rain and fell on his location.
Naturally. Ophis had already started using A-rank Noble Phantasms, while EMIYA's projections dropped a Noble Phantasm by one rank.
A+ and above weren't easily projected—EX was out of the question—and even if he projected an A-rank, it would degrade to B.
In other words, drawing A-rank Noble Phantasms was practically a guaranteed way to break through EMIYA's projections.
"Tch!"
At some point he'd already vaulted high into the air. Hanging upside down in midair, EMIYA drew and fired, loosing a single spiral sword toward Ophis.
BOOOOM!!!
A towering explosion flared skyward, and EMIYA used the moment to melt into the trees, vanishing from sight.
He hadn't expected it. The King of Heroes he'd known—whose close-quarters control had been absolute trash—had, after "changing her nature," become someone who could effortlessly shut down every one of his attacks. And from beginning to end, no matter how stylishly he repositioned, Ophis never moved from her spot. She showed no awareness of distance at all, despite being an Archer… though he wasn't exactly in a position to criticize.
Either way, by the time it had come to this, if he didn't use a trump card, EMIYA truly had no way to deal with her.
This wasn't the moment to decide a winner…
Yeah. Better to withdraw.
Watching EMIYA leave, Ophis didn't pursue.
Strictly speaking, since he'd planted such a flag, it felt almost rude not to "properly entertain" him.
But his abilities did restrain her to a certain extent. She could win, certainly. She could even pin him down for good. But it would be a hassle…
Especially since Chaldea's summoning system was troublesome. It looked like even killing him wouldn't accomplish much.
Ophis slipped back into the jacket she'd taken off earlier for ease of movement, then turned away.
She'd redo the formula she'd been working on…
No guarantee that man wouldn't come back to sabotage her again. For now, she'd establish this place as a workshop.
She didn't have the Caster class, but with Sha Naqba Imuru and the near-endless supply of Mystic Codes in her treasury, it would be easy enough.
Recreating Uruk's old defensive mechanisms and letting those people try their luck had its own charm.
Congratulations, Emiya-kun. You successfully bumped the difficulty from A-rank to EX~.
...
"I see… got it…"
After hearing EMIYA's report on Ophis, Lord El-Melloi II let out yet another sigh—he'd lost count how many.
The only piece of information that could be called "good" was this: Ophis couldn't use that strange phasing ability while using the book.
An eerie sword whose performance couldn't be read; close-combat ability at least on par with a King Arthur who possessed Instinct, plus extremely high parameters… and because she didn't seem to be serious, her upper limit still couldn't be pinned down.
And most importantly—
"Are you certain she was doing something at Ryuudou Temple?"
At that, EMIYA's expression turned grave as well.
"Yeah. She was brazenly drawing something on the ground. It didn't look like anything good."
Ritsuka looked at Lord El-Melloi II, then at EMIYA, tilting her head.
"Ryuudou Temple… what's wrong with it?"
Here, only EMIYA and Lord El-Melloi II understood what Mount Enzou's Ryuudou Temple truly represented…
That was… the location of the Greater Grail.
"Huh? So that means…"
After Lord El-Melloi II explained, Ritsuka's mouth fell open.
She didn't even know what exactly it meant—but it definitely sounded serious.
"In any case, things are going to get more troublesome."
Lord El-Melloi II had steadied his mood by now. He rose to his feet.
"We need to unify all our forces as soon as possible. Romani—have you arranged the Heroic Spirits?"
"No problem. Once the timing is right, we can deploy them all. But you need to be aware: we only have one chance. Once that battle ends, Chaldea won't have the resources to commit again."
"That's enough."
Lord El-Melloi II smiled faintly.
Even a King of Heroes would have no chance of surviving against that many Heroic Spirits at once.
...
"What? The Assassins we sent were wiped out?!"
At Kirei's report, Tokiomi's heart lurched.
"How is that possible? Only a Servant can deal with a Servant (wait, isn't that setting from forever ago?)—does that mean the other side is also a participant in this Holy Grail War?"
"Once they drew near, the link between Assassin and myself was severed by some power. I cannot determine the enemy's nature. Even when I ordered Assassin not to engage and only gather information, not a single one returned alive."
Kirei answered Tokiomi's doubts in a flat tone. Even recounting something this unbelievable, there wasn't the slightest ripple in his eyes.
Tokiomi, by contrast, felt a headache coming on.
In this Holy Grail War, every faction aside from Caster's had basically been under Assassin's surveillance. Could it be that the one who did this was Caster?
Now that he thought about it, the possibility wasn't low.
But—
My control over the leylines has been completely stolen. It's too late now to launch a full-scale snipe against them!
Outwardly, he maintained his elegance, but inside, Tokiomi burned with anger at his own misstep.
"Find a way for Assassin to continue tracking. We must pinpoint their location—and then I will find a way to ask the King of Heroes to act personally!"
"I understand, Tohsaka-sama."
---
T/N: emiyaaaa well its not his fault they sent him... but the mission is now EX rank :SOBBING:
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