[126] Cracks

Tohsaka Tokiomi rubbed his temple with his thumb and forefinger, letting out a faint sigh. "Come back, Karna."

Continuing this battle wouldn't lead to a clear winner. Those Magical Energy Reactors were simply too abnormal, the best equipment capable of effectively closing the gap between Heroic Spirits. However, he couldn't afford them.

As a result, Karna could only use his skills occasionally and go all out with his Noble Phantasm, which drained his mana quickly. On the other hand, Saber could endlessly use various techniques and even casually unleash her Noble Phantasm. How could he win like this?

How could this be possible?

Even though Karna was stronger, the difference in mana was challenging to bridge.

Moreover, it was unbearable for him to have Karna repeatedly charge towards Kayneth. It felt like someone had a pile of hundred-million-dollar bills and was standing in front of a furnace, slowly feeding them in one by one instead of just throwing them in. Throwing them all in at once would be uncomfortable for a moment, but this constant back and forth was even more agonizing.

And furthermore, Karna, the one feeding the bills into the furnace, had the ability to throw them all in at once!

This situation made him anxious, and he finally couldn't stand it, so he decided to call Karna back.

...

"Hehehe... after planning for over a year, it seems that success is finally within reach," Matou Zouken said, smiling as he looked at the small specks of black mud rising in the underground cavern beneath the Ryuudou Temple. "Well then, Berserker... it's time to strengthen you a bit. With your current abilities, you should be able to handle it... hehehe."

There was no doubt that the current Berserker was stronger than the one portrayed in the manga.

Summoning Heroic Spirits from the manga might reveal their trump cards to the enemy, but it also had its advantages. Whether it was Rider, Archer, or Berserker, all of them were stronger than their manga counterparts. Of course, the difference in strength wasn't too significant due to the limited passage of time.

However, in Fuyuki City, they still received a boost from the strength of local Heroic Spirits. Compared to the original manga versions, they were closer in power to their true forms in the Throne of Heroes.

This was why Archer and Rider's bounded fields could last longer, and even Berserker could protect Matou Zouken effectively within these bounded fields.

Although he had been killed three times by Archer EMIYA, this situation couldn't continue.

"That Archer can project powerful Noble Phantasms, but I'm not without options," Matou Zouken chuckled. "Hmm? Who—"

"Why are you still here?" the red Archer walked out, letting out a slight sigh. Behind him was his current Master, Emiya Kiritsugu.

"Well, the battle outside is so intense. Why don't you go out for a walk and see for yourself? It's not healthy to stay in one place all the time," the red Heroic Spirit said, waving his hand. With this guy around, there was no point in setting up anything useful here.

"Hehehe, young people shouldn't always talk to old folks like this," Matou Zouken squinted at them and said, "Or do you want to try Berserker's sword?"

"How about it, Master? Should I take care of Berserker here?" Archer asked his Master.

"Ha," Emiya Kiritsugu sighed, "No, forget it. Let's go. This isn't a place for us to stay."

Emiya Kiritsugu glanced at Matou Zouken and noticed that his feet were already in the black mud.

Now... was he going to be contaminated by the black mud, or was this his original intention? It wasn't clear at the moment, but one thing was certain: this old man in front of them was tricky.

Both he and his Servant were formidable opponents.

On the other side, Matou Zouken was thinking the same thing. Although his feet were indeed in the black mud, it wasn't as powerful as Emiya Kiritsugu had assumed. These were just the overflow, and Matou Zouken had long been contaminated.

However, it wasn't the black mud that had tainted him but rather time and aging. Once a person was already dark, no amount of ink could make them pure white again; they would only become darker.

However, he didn't send Berserker to stop them. That red Archer was one of the most troublesome Heroic Spirits in Matou Zouken's eyes.

No matter how strong Saber, Lancer, or Rider were, they could only take a life or two from Berserker at most. Once a Noble Phantasm killed him once, it wouldn't work a second time.

But this Archer was different. Who knew how many Noble Phantasms this guy could project? This might be what they called "compatibility." This Archer happened to counter Berserker.

Now, both Emiya Kiritsugu and Matou Zouken were thinking the same thing: "We can't win unless we take care of this guy! We should try to lure other Heroic Spirits and find a way to deal with that Archer/Berserker!"

Meanwhile, Kazuya was watching the battle between Lancer and Saber. The battle was reaching its conclusion, and it seemed that Lancer was about to retreat.

As for Emiya Kiritsugu, since there was no battle happening on his end, he didn't have the opportunity to fight these two Heroic Spirits he hadn't encountered before. He could only focus on what was happening here.

"So, this is the application of the Magical Energy Reactors... I wonder if I should try buying two of them?" Kazuya thought. For him, money was no longer a concern, thanks to his A-rank Golden Rule. He had more than enough wealth to do anything he wanted.

In any case, Karna suddenly withdrew. Kayneth sighed in relief, ending the connection to the Magical Energy Reactors. He felt a sharp pain in his magic circuit, and even his magic circuit suffered some damage.

"That damned Tohsaka Tokiomi..."

Kayneth let out a breath. "Altera, pursue them and kill Lancer and his Master!"

"I understand," Altera nodded and followed Lancer's spiritual form to give chase.

Kayneth made some minor repairs to the nearby bounded field and then sat down. "Why hasn't Waver returned yet?"

Without the protection of Heroic Spirits, he felt completely unsafe!

His power was entirely inadequate in the face of these Heroic Spirits.

Buzz...

Just then, on the side where defeated Heroic Spirits were stored, the disk moved slightly, and the marker for Assassin seemed to become brighter!

Crack...

Simultaneously, a crack appeared on the surface.

---

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