Diarmuid wasn't the only one questioning reality.
On the Fuyuki Bridge, his three "teammates" were just as stunned.
"Strength A+++, Endurance A+++, Agility A+++, Mana A+++, Luck A+++…"
Using his Master privileges to view the lion-masked Servant's parameters, Waver Velvet clutched his head. "Why does something this absurd even exist?!"
Normally, Servant parameters ran from E to A, five tiers.
An A with three pluses meant that on top of the highest baseline, the Servant could, when needed, multiply that attribute to four times its base.
If you crudely quantified E as 10, D as 20, C as 30, B as 40, and A as 50, then that Servant could reach 200 in every stat at peak.
Even on paper, an A+++ Strength outstripped Diarmuid's B Strength by 160—and in reality, Servant parameters weren't arithmetic where 10+10 makes 20. Even a single point difference, in the hands of a true expert, could decide victory.
Kayneth's expression darkened.
He had sent Diarmuid out to take an opening win—and to show the backwater magi of Fuyuki what a Clock Tower Lord looked like.
Instead, after just one exchange, Diarmuid already had to draw mana through their contract like a pump.
Was that Diarmuid's fault?
Not entirely.
Diarmuid's stats were Strength B, Endurance C, Agility A+, Mana D, Luck E.
And Iskandar—Alexander the Great himself—had descended as Rider with Strength B, Endurance A, Agility D, Mana C, Luck A+.
So Diarmuid's sheet absolutely matched his title as the Fianna's foremost knight.
In fact, after Kayneth summoned him, Diarmuid had proven his strength in several probing clashes with Iskandar.
But now, his first opponent was a thing with all stats at A+++…
Einzbern… I, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, will remember this.
Kayneth enhanced his vision with magecraft, saw the silver hair and red eyes of the Master behind the lion mask, and recognized the hallmark of Einzbern homunculi—also remembering that the Einzberns were one of the three families who built the Fuyuki Grail system over a century ago.
Exploiting superior knowledge of the system to pull this kind of cheap trick.
No wonder the Fuyuki ritual—once worthy of having the Second Magician witness it—had reached its fourth iteration and still remained obscure, resorting to selling itself as a "wish-granting machine" to trick children into participating.
With the Three Families playing this dirty without even pretending otherwise, it would be a miracle if the Grail wasn't rotten.
"Do we keep watching?" Iskandar asked.
While Waver and Kayneth stared at the lion-masked Servant's sheet in speechless disbelief, she'd already thrown her second strike—a thrust that looked plain compared to the first, yet forced Diarmuid into a straight block with nowhere to dodge.
Diarmuid caught it—
and was launched backward like a rag doll, smashing through multiple shipping containers before finally stopping when he cratered the ground.
Iskandar could feel it: the third strike would be even worse.
"Lancer, fall back," Kayneth ordered through the contract. "This was my misjudgment. I didn't anticipate the Three Families were… this kind of Three Families…"
"…As you command."
Diarmuid cast one last look at the lion-masked monster and dissolved into spirit form, retreating.
He wasn't afraid of death.
He'd answered the Grail to pledge himself to a lord and serve unto death.
If he could die for Kayneth—whose presence reminded him so powerfully of that man—he knew he'd return to the Throne with a smile.
But being unafraid of death didn't mean he wanted to be senselessly flattened by a stat monster before he'd achieved anything for his Master.
Down below, the lion-masked Servant didn't stop him.
Instead, she raised her lance high.
"Who else wishes to try?"
Her voice carried.
"I know more than one of you can hear me. Same condition: withstand three strikes, and you may learn my name."
Silence.
No one answered.
A Servant capable of descending as Lancer should have excellent overall parameters and exceptional speed, but Diarmuid had been driven off in two strikes…
Tokiomi Tohsaka, for his part, had at least that much sense: he trusted his own king, but had no desire to clash now.
Even if his Servant could win, it would almost certainly require exposing one or two trump cards—an information leak that would be disastrous going forward.
"It looks like the Tohsaka are scared," Bai Ye said, drawing his gaze back from the Tohsaka residence's direction. He looked at Scáthach. "With Kayneth choosing to withdraw Diarmuid instead of stacking another Servant on top… the odds of a real fight continuing tonight are basically zero. Want to go down and test her?"
"Exactly what I wanted," Scáthach said.
She jumped.
From the crane arm to the ground—straight into the lion-masked Servant's path.
"Oh…?" The lion mask turned toward her. "You, too, can be summoned as a Servant?"
"If you can, why can't I?" Scáthach flicked her spear tip with a finger, listening to the humming response of the crimson godslayer. "Good. A fine prey."
More高手?!
Kayneth, Waver, and Tokiomi all stared—
and in the next instant, they all lost their "view."
"If you're going to watch, come out and watch properly," a man's voice said—clearly not Scáthach's. "What's the point of skulking like rats?"
Silence fell again.
Another one?
Not two, not three—a fourth presence?
....
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