Chapter 65: In a Split Second

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In a one-on-one with a top-tier magus, a Servant might just find some challenge. But even the most skilled magus would barely scrape by against a lower-tier Servant, lucky if they manage to survive.

Even someone as strong as Aozaki Touko could only hold her ground to this extent.

Tohsaka Rin gripped her gem tightly, ready to throw it.

No matter what kind of enemy she faced, she refused to back down without a fight. Even if death was inevitable, she'd face it only after giving it her all.

That was Tohsaka Rin.

Just as she prepared for a final stand, a flurry of white paper cascaded down from above, rustling like rainfall.

Startled, Rin looked up as each piece of paper shimmered with magical energy, forming translucent barriers around them, buzzing with protective energy.

"What?"

The charging Hassan of the Cursed Arm faltered for a moment.

His hollow, skull-masked eyes shifted from Rin to the red-eyed, white-haired homunculus beside her, holding another stack of rune papers, seemingly ready to throw.

Hassan's figure lowered as he descended to the ground. With a quick flick of his wrist, he hurled a dagger at the closest barrier, the blade ricocheting off with a sharp clang as it shattered a single layer.

But that was only one layer out of many.

The barriers formed a dense wall around Rin and Roy, layers upon layers in all directions, with at least a dozen for each angle. Altogether, there were probably over seventy or eighty.

"How many rune sheets has this magus stockpiled?"

Hassan's hollow eyes narrowed in disbelief.

Ordinary magi were limited by their magical energy; there was a daily cap on the number of rune sheets they could produce. To accumulate this many would require years of dedication, with each powerful rune draining significant reserves.

"Such a formidable defensive rune paper stockpile should be nearly impossible to amass!"

Without hesitation, Hassan spread his fingers, holding seven or eight daggers between them.

He aimed at one spot in the barrier, flinging each dagger in rapid succession, forming a relentless chain of strikes. Precision was irrelevant—only speed and power mattered!

In a matter of seconds, he had already shattered half the barriers in front of Rin and Roy.

Just one more round of attacks, and their defenses would collapse completely.

Tohsaka Rin braced herself, tense and clutching her gems.

Hassan produced another set of daggers, throwing them in a relentless stream, each knife colliding with the next as they tore through the remaining barriers.

Cracks and shatters echoed as the last layer dissolved into fragments.

Without hesitation, Rin hurled one of her gems forward.

Each gem was something she had nurtured from a young age, pouring ten years' worth of magical energy into them. She only had ten such gems in total, each capable of releasing devastating A-rank attacks—powerful enough to even take out a life from Heracles himself.

"Foolish!"

Hassan flicked his hand again.

A barrage of daggers spun through the air, colliding in a chain reaction that knocked each gem out of the sky before they could even explode.

Watching her precious gems shatter, Rin's eyes widened with frustration and disbelief.

Yes, these could have taken a life from Heracles—but only if he stood there like a target, unmoving.

Gritting her teeth, Rin reached into her pocket and pulled out a ruby necklace.

It was her father's keepsake, stored alongside the snakeskin in their family's treasure chest. The magical energy within it was vast, far surpassing her own gems. If she could detonate it, its power would be even greater.

But before she could act, Roy tossed another handful of rune papers into the air.

The sheets scattered around them like flower petals, seemingly about to reform the barrier once more.

"Not this time!"

Hassan had anticipated this move.

With a flash, he lunged forward, closing the gap in the blink of an eye.

His keen eyes tracked the sheets, identifying those that were first pulsing with magical energy. He threw daggers with pinpoint accuracy, shattering those runes before they could activate.

As the blades took out the runes, his right arm extended, clawed fingers reaching straight for Roy's heart.

"Roy!"

Rin's face paled as she instinctively threw the ruby necklace toward him, hoping to form a shield in time to block Assassin's attack—

But to her surprise, Roy's expression remained calm, almost smug.

"You've fallen for it!"

The moment Roy's expression registered, a sense of foreboding washed over Hassan.

Roy had thrown the runes with his right hand—but his left hand had been hidden behind him, performing a more subtle action masked by the flourish of his rune-casting.

With a flick of his left wrist, a rune for barrier creation appeared mid-air, rapidly expanding, multiplying, and solidifying into a protective wall around both Roy and Rin.

This new barrier was not only several times stronger than the previous one but was also under Roy's direct control, continuously fed with magical energy. It wouldn't be easily broken.

"Tch!"

Blocked in his advance, Hassan took a step back, unable to reach Roy's heart.

The barrier in front was now a daunting obstacle, but the other angles had fewer layers. If he changed his position, he might be able to breach the defenses within seconds.

"Hm?"

Hassan hesitated, feeling a strange resistance at his back.

He turned and was shocked to find the sheets of rune paper from Roy's second throw had linked up, forming a grand barrier that encircled the entire area, trapping all three of them within.

Inside this outer barrier, Roy's personal defenses formed an inner shield, enclosing himself and Rin.

Effectively, Hassan was now sandwiched between two protective walls.

An unsettling smile spread across Roy's face.

With a wave of his right hand, the barrier runes he had secretly created with his left began to split and expand, forming even more layers.

"Too bad for you—it's over. Time to die!"

Roy flicked his wrist, and from his palm, countless runes shot out like chains, threading through the gaps in the barriers.

In two breaths, hundreds of runes filled the sky above, fusing into a massive rune sphere as tall as a person.

"Damn it!"

Hassan's eyes widened as he realized the trap too late.

With a roar, the rune sphere exploded between the two barriers.

"BOOM—!!!"

A deafening explosion echoed through the night, flames erupting like a miniature sun, consuming everything in its path.

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