[104] Deception

"Hey, hey, what's that?" Rito Ishizaki exclaimed, staring at the pillar of light in the sky.

"Could it be the Holy Grail War?" Ryosuke Matsushita, who had been drawing sacred heroic spirit summoning circles from his manga multiple times, said excitedly.

"Stop, stop, stop! That's just a manga; you're taking it seriously," Rito Ishizaki said with a wry smile.

"No! It's real; I believe these Heroic Spirits truly exist!" With that, looking at the now-dissipating pillar of light in the sky, he hurriedly ran towards the door.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Rito Ishizaki shouted.

"Do I even need to say? I'm going to witness the Holy Grail War! Are you coming?" Ryosuke Matsushita yelled while putting on his shoes.

"..." Rito Ishizaki's lips twitched. "Let's assume there's a Holy Grail War for now. But aren't we just regular people? Going there would be suicide!"

Ryosuke Matsushita rolled his eyes. "Can't even die for her? Yet you claim to love her? Wait for me, Saber, I'm coming!"

With a slam of the door, he dashed outside. He had a rough idea of the location of the pillar of light.

"Saber's Noble Phantasm should come from above... and it should be gold..." Although he said this, Rito Ishizaki felt his heart pounding. What if... what if this was real?

No, it couldn't be... how could something so fantastical happen in the real world?

But what if it did...

Swallowing hard, he put on his shoes and ran outside. "Wait for me! Let's go together!"

This scene played out in various parts of Fuyuki City. In that era, there were countless individuals unafraid of death, driven by curiosity, or plagued by delusions of grandeur.

Hawk-eyed Kazuya clearly observed this scene. "Interesting... things are starting to get interesting. This development..."

This development made him unable to resist taking out his brush and beginning to draw!

But what about the battlefield over there?

The mist grew thicker and thicker, and even he couldn't see what was happening clearly.

"A new Heroic Spirit? This effect... among the Heroic Spirits I know, there should only be one with this... unless it's an Heroic Spirit summoned for this Holy Grail War who hasn't appeared in the Type-Moon world yet."

...

"Ugh..." Karna knelt on the ground.

The surrounding forest and earth had already been scorched.

Altera looked at the heavily injured Karna and furrowed her brow. "Why didn't you use your Noble Phantasm?"

"My Master didn't allow me to use it," Karna replied as he slowly got up. "Today's battle ends here; we'll save the fight for next time."

"Stop him, Saber!" In the mist, Kayneth couldn't see the situation clearly but shouted anyway.

"Understood." Sensing something, Altera quickly rushed to Kayneth's side and intercepted the dagger attack—

"Assassin?" Kayneth broke into a cold sweat, realizing he had nearly died just now.

"I'll kill you." An eerie voice whispered in Karna's ear. Karna struggled to raise his spear in front of him, but he was still wounded by the dagger—his Golden Armor hadn't finished its regeneration.

However, in the next moment, before Assassin could launch another attack, he disappeared.

Tohsaka Tokiomi naturally learned of the current situation through Karna's vision. "In this case... it seems things have settled down."

Assassin had attacked his Heroic Spirit, so now there was no reason for anyone to think that he and Assassin were on the same side. Normally, at this point, it would be clear that Assassin and Lancer were enemies.

But no, Assassin had just appeared, ostensibly attacking Lancer but actually helping him escape.

On the other side, Kayneth realized that the mist around him had dissipated unconsciously.

"That one... is..." Kayneth frowned slightly, unable to remember what the Heroic Spirit that had attacked him and Karna looked like. He couldn't even recall what had just happened.

But one thing was certain: that Heroic Spirit was Assassin!

"Hmm?" Kayneth heard the increasingly loud commotion in the distance and furrowed his brow. "Tsk! Seriously, even though she released her Noble Phantasm, that Heroic Spirit still got away! Annoying guy! And that Assassin... gone, Saber."

Now, this place was no longer suitable for conversation.

Although there was a dispelling boundary here, it had still attracted ordinary people.

...

"Hmm... it seems that the Assassin is highly likely to be Jack the Ripper... So, currently, i can confirm Saber Altera, Lancer Karna, and Assassin Jack, but it's pending. Yes, yes, that's right. I'll join in the next battle."

Kazuya put away his pens and smiled slightly. To fight in front of these Heroic Spirits, he needed to unleash his Noble Phantasms using Command Spells.

However, he still didn't have enough Command Spells.

Today, he would experiment to see if he could seize more Command Seals.

...

"It looks like they got away," Archer EMIYA said as he lowered his bow. He had been prepared to eliminate Lancer in one shot, but he was suddenly blocked by the appearing mist!

As a result, Lancer had escaped.

Although he could now attempt to snipe Saber's Master, the one named Kayneth, it wasn't the right time yet.

After all, as soon as he used his abilities or revealed his face, he would likely be recognized in an instant. For now, he could only give up and wait for the next battle.

"Master, do you have any orders?"

"Let's see how the situation develops... We can try to launch a surprise attack on the Tohsaka residence," Kiritsugu contemplated and then said, "But... try to spare Tohsaka Tokiomi's life for now. Just deal with the heavily injured Lancer."

...

"Well done, Lancer. How long will it take for those injuries to heal with sufficient mana?"

"With sufficient mana, a few hours should be enough," Karna replied, not showing the slightest resentment despite his condition.

"Hours, huh... Can I ask you to appear uninjured after an hour and fight? Try to show on the surface that you haven't been injured." Tohsaka Tokiomi asked.

"First, I'll try to recover as much as possible on the surface. Understood, an hour should suffice."

"Very well..." Tohsaka Tokiomi sighed in relief. "An hour from now, Assassin will feign an attack on this Tohsaka residence and you, who will be heavily injured. At that time, use it to show others that you're unharmed."

"Understood."

---

If you're interested in reading more, feel free to visit my patreon which already contains 20 chapters: 

https://www.patreon.com/XElenea