Magician in Type-Moon

Page 88

It is the Lion Technique created by Mordred, and only she can master it.

"Well......!"

Sparks flew as the two swords clashed.

Artoria gritted her teeth, gripping the Holy Sword tightly with both hands. Feeling Mordred's fierce power, she detached herself from the actual confrontation and quickly returned to defense in a strange way, barely blocking the attack.

It was barely manageable, but in reality, it didn't prevent anything at all.

A wild and fierce red, lightning-like sword beam hurtled straight towards them, and Artoria's holy sword seemed to struggle against that force.

Red lightning, like a raging dragon, exploded between the two, instantly tearing apart Artoria's defenses.

The impact sent her staggering back several steps, and a sharp pain shot through her arm.

The silver, magically adorned armor with elven patterns was utterly torn apart by Mordred's monstrous sword strike.

The chest armor emitted a piercing cracking sound, and fragments flew everywhere, causing Artoria's chest defenses to collapse instantly.

Instead, the piles of corpses on the battlefield added to the tragic scene. The battlefield was littered with broken swords, shattered spears, and torn flags, as if telling the story of countless bloody battles that this land had endured.

Despite the pain, Artoria's sharp eyes scanned her surroundings.

Since the start of the battle, Mordred has consistently been on the defensive against Artoria.

Mordred, however, was impatient.

—Screw you, we can't take it!

Mordred possessed an intuition that was almost superpower-like, which made her realize that she must not touch the golden holy sword.

Even though he felt that a single stab from the holy sword wouldn't cause much damage, his intuition still told him that he absolutely mustn't.

As a result, the dodging motion became slightly more pronounced, making it impossible to smoothly execute a counterattack.

While the offense didn't become chaotic, it certainly wasn't as sharp anymore.

Should I ignore my gut feeling and deliberately parry the sword strike? I considered this, but immediately dismissed the thought. That sword was Excalibur.

Since it is a Noble Phantasm, no matter how small its power is, it should not be underestimated.

Mordred suppressed her anxiety... This anxiety wasn't because she felt she would lose, but because this dream might end soon, and then it would be difficult to have such an opportunity again.

"Father, you don't seem to be in the right state of mind. It's quite unexpected that such a mistake would happen to you!" Mordred sneered, his tone full of sarcasm.

I don't know what's going on with Artoria, but so what? As long as we win, that's all that matters.

Unfair?

There's no such thing as unfairness in battle...

Artoria was in great pain at the moment. Her breastplate had been pierced, and she couldn't help but touch her chest with her hand.

The tactile sensation was still there; the real breastplate hadn't shattered like in the illusion, but the dual pressure on her mind and body made her feel incredibly heavy.

We can't keep defending; we need to find a way to break the deadlock, otherwise, given the current situation, defeat is only a matter of time.

......

In reality, outside the battlefield between Gilles de Rais and Artoria, Matou Ike used the insects that had previously invaded Einzbern Castle to infiltrate it early on.

His goal was very clear—to find the Lesser Grail and take it away.

This was the main purpose of this invasion of Einzbern.

But I can't find it, I simply can't find it.

The magical senses searched throughout Einzbern Castle, but only found the presence of Kiritsugu Emiya; Irisviel's presence was completely undetectable.

Does this mean Irisviel isn't here?

Based on the scent of insects, Matou Pond was able to confirm that Irisviel had indeed been active in this area some time ago.

The insects crawled along the scent trail, conveying information to him. He frowned in thought, a hint of doubt arising in his mind.

"Where is she hiding?" he muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, Irisviel was hiding in the basement, watching the battle unfold inside the crystal ball.

She was filled with tension and worry, and her palms were covered in cold sweat.

Artoria is in an extremely dangerous situation, and all she can do is pray and wait.

Matou Ike was unable to find her location simply because Angela Manu had already prepared anti-magic measures for the basement.

It made Irisviel's presence disappear completely.

Chapter 124 Blue Flame Gatling Gun?

Irisviel's presence disappeared within the castle, but Kiritsugu Emiya was not worried, assuming that Irisviel had used magic to conceal her tracks.

Because Kiritsugu Emiya didn't locate Irisviel's position using magic, but rather through technology.

The tracking device attached to Irisviel still indicated that she was in the basement, and her heart rate and pulse remained normal, with only slight fluctuations.

However, considering that Irisviel is using her clairvoyance to observe the battle between Servants outside, Artoria is at a disadvantage at this moment.

It's normal to have some emotional fluctuations.

The reason Kiritsugu Emiya is still in the castle is to guard against Matou Ike, who just disappeared in the forest, and... the resurrected "Maiya"...

The appearance of "Maimi" has been a constant source of resentment for him.

This former comrade-in-arms and companion had long since sacrificed himself in battle, but now he had reappeared in a strange form, which undoubtedly made him wary.

"This can't be the real Maiya, she's just a manipulated puppet, or worse..."

Kiritsugu silently speculated, gripping his weapon tightly, preparing to deal with any possible situation.

But now is not the time to think about that; repelling this invasion is what we should be doing now.

Meanwhile, Matouchi wandered around the castle, searching for Irisviel's whereabouts.

Suddenly, the insect relayed a message—there was a familiar scent in the main hall of the city; it must be Kiritsugu Emiya.

Even in that brief encounter before the Holy Grail War began, the insects of Matou Pond had already captured the scent of Kiritsugu Emiya.

Since we can't find Irisviel, finding Kiritsugu Emiya is the same.

Make a decision.

Having cleared away the obstacles in his way, Matouchi slowly stepped into the main hall of the castle.

The chandelier emitted a dazzling light, and the marble floor was polished to a gleaming shine.

The air in the city was fresh, making it feel like there were still people here just a moment ago—but now not a single person has shown up to fight.

Just then, four seemingly ordinary lanterns placed in the four corners of the spacious hall suddenly exploded with a loud bang.

What flew out were not shards of glass, but countless metal particles that hurtled towards Matou Pond at bullet speed.

There was no magical reaction within the trap, and Matou Ike didn't even notice its existence.

This is understandable, as Kiritsugu Emiya had planted a cruel type of bomb called the "M18A1 Broadsword Mine" in the lamp beforehand.

This weapon uses the explosive force of explosives to launch more than 3 steel balls, each 0.4 centimeters in diameter, in a fan shape. It was specifically developed to ambush infantry groups and wipe them out in one fell swoop.

This killing weapon explodes simultaneously from all four directions, leaving the target in the center with absolutely no way to escape. They will be blown to pieces in an instant, turning into a mass of minced meat.

—But this applies if the other party is not a magician.

Just as more than 12 steel balls were about to hit Matou Ike.

A flicker of alertness flashed in Matou Ike's eyes, and he reacted swiftly.

His body instantly transformed into countless tiny insects, which quickly dispersed, avoiding most of the steel balls' attacks.

However, some of the steel balls still hit some of the insects, causing him a sharp pain.

The steel balls from the Claymore mines bombarded the entire hall, ricocheting everywhere, but only managed to destroy the city's decor.

"Is this how Emiya Kiritsugu works?" Matou Ike sneered, quickly reassembling his body and sharply scanning his surroundings.

Looking at the tragic scene around him, Matou Ike snorted coldly at the vicious trap set by the enemy.

Although Matou Ike didn't know much about military weapons, he knew very well that the attack that had just hit him was not a magic attack, but just an ordinary weapon using ordinary explosives.

Although Kiritsugu Emiya was hiding in the shadows, he could still observe Matou Ike's reactions using a CCD camera hidden in the lobby.

"Even with such a dense attack, they still can't take him down?"

Kiritsugu muttered to himself, his brow furrowed.

He knew that Matouchi was not compatible with him, which is why he adopted such a dense offensive, even modifying the inside of the broadsword mines to hold more steel balls.

But now it seems that things are more complicated than he had anticipated.

Although reluctant, Kiritsugu had to admit that Matou Ike, despite his youth, was indeed a first-rate magician.

Looking back now, he should have come to this conclusion as early as when the Ryudoji Temple on Mount Enzo was ambushed by Matouchi Pond.

This means that Kiritsugu Emiya must also fight this enemy as a "magician".

In order to find the enemy in the castle, Matou Ike will probably start by searching each room on the first floor one by one.

Kiritsugu is currently in the reception room deep inside on the second floor.

If Kiritsugu acts immediately, there is still time to choose a location advantageous for the battle.

Kiritsugu pondered the castle layout he had memorized as he walked toward the door, intending to leave the living room—at this moment, he suddenly stopped.

A translucent white worm crawled out from the gap between the door and the floor.

The moment Kiritsugu noticed it, the insect immediately stopped moving, then dissipated into a pool of water-attribute magic liquid, which quickly flowed back and disappeared without a trace.

"...I see, so this is Matou Ike's search method?"

Just as Kiritsugu frowned and muttered to himself, a black whirlwind swept through the carpeted floor of the living room.

In the blink of an eye, a circular hole was drilled in the center of the floor, causing it to collapse to the floor below.

The swarm of insects emerged from beneath the floor and crawled upwards.

Kiritsugu Emiya quickly retreated, dodging the swarm of insects that surged from the ground. These insects were densely packed, rapidly filling the entire room like a black tide.

Countless insects clung to the edge of the opening in the floor.