[FDJ]Chapter 45: Perplexity

Suzuki had always believed in his shattered memories, and the actual results had consistently confirmed that his memories aligned with the real information. However, when he witnessed Lancer's increasingly skillful runic magic, he began to harbor doubts: why was Brynhildr, who didn't belong to the Caster class, capable of such high-level magical abilities?

As Suzuki needed protection, Jeanne had been constantly on guard, while Brynhildr seemed to "cooperate" by pretending to attack Suzuki, only summoning flames and vines for show.

Lancer's abnormal behavior gradually gave rise to speculations in Suzuki's mind. He had never received any training in this type of combat at Chaldea, relying solely on intuition and deduction to analyze Lancer's true intentions in deliberately "showing weakness."

Lancer's displays of weakness included allowing Rider to be defeated, not attacking Suzuki, who was an easy target, and gaining an advantage with a Noble Phantasm but letting Attila go. Suzuki deduced that Lancer's true power was sufficient to handle both Attila and Jeanne simultaneously, rather than being merely "slightly stronger than an individual Servant" as previously thought.

In a classroom, one could directly ask the professor when questions arose, but on the battlefield, where life and death hung in the balance, there was no option to inquire of the enemy. Jeanne's condition had also started to deteriorate, as continuous combat inevitably took its toll.

On the other hand, Lancer's movements remained smooth and flawless. Apart from close combat, where it was difficult to gain the advantage against Jeanne's sword, there was nothing to pick apart.

Chaldea's data couldn't be wrong!

Suzuki recalled it multiple times, but the remembered data contained no discrepancies, including the name of the Noble Phantasm he had just witnessed—『Brynhild Romantia』—which was identical to what was recorded in Chaldea's archives.

[...A Servant can only be seen as one aspect of a Heroic Spirit, so there are certain extremely special cases where the same Servant responds to summoning with different appearances and different classes.]

Suzuki remembered a certain fragment of memory, where the professor in green clothing, whose image was fragmented, spoke about information not recorded in the textbooks. Using the example of the Son of Light from Ireland, who appeared multiple times, that teacher provided data on two different classes for the same Servant.

[Please look at the blackboard. The Servant whose true name is 'Cu Chulainn,' Chaldea has collected data for both the Lancer and Caster classes. Based on speculation, this hero of many legends from mythology can also adapt to other classes. Servants like this, who have compatibility with multiple classes, may still possess considerable magical abilities even after descending as Lancers or retain certain melee capabilities after descending as Casters. In the future, you must not rely solely on the enemy's demonstrated abilities to make hasty conjectures about their class.]

"Perhaps Brynhildr still possesses significant magical abilities after descending as a Lancer?" Suzuki pondered as he chewed on the recalled knowledge. He felt he had come close to the truth just now but failed to grasp the fleeting inspiration. The classes of the other Servants had already been confirmed, and it was certain that Brynhildr, who was battling Jeanne, was a Lancer.

Similar conditions can lead to similar results, and similar results can imply similar conditions.

"Brynhildr has compatibility with the Caster class?"

At this moment, Jeanne, exhausted, was unfortunate enough to be struck by Lancer's giant spear, the weight pressing heavily on her armor. It provoked a furious roar from Jeanne, prompting her to unintentionally activate her Mad Enhancement once again. It provided a short-term advantage, but this explosive ability would further limit Jeanne's endurance in a prolonged battle.

Lancer continued to harass with runic magic and intermittently launched spear attacks, allowing Jeanne to sever the vines she summoned on the ground.

No, Suzuki felt he still hadn't grasped the crucial point, the most important link that connected the reasons why Lancer was deliberately showing weakness and buying time. It eluded his grasp, only faintly brushing against the edges.

Turning his gaze to Attila and Aetius, as well as the two other Servants positioned a little farther away, Suzuki suddenly had a bold conjecture. He remembered the data on Saber Gilles de Rais, a Servant who possessed compatibility with another class and characteristics that were concocted in later times.

While it was primarily persecution driven by political factors, he was able to gain notoriety in later times under the name "Bluebeard." Perhaps the same was true for the name "Valkyrie."

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Outside the Western Roman military camp, Archer encountered a swarm of Bomb Bees and was once again intercepted by the Caster-class Servant who had disgusted her yesterday.

"Hehehehe. Archer, my Master doesn't welcome your arrival during the day." Caster, dressed in a clown costume, hid behind what he believed to be a safe fence, continuously placing bombs at Archer's position using his magical box from a distance.

After several evasive maneuvers, Archer seized the opportunity and shot an arrow through the gap in the fence, hitting Caster directly in the clown hat.

"The latest update is that your side's Rider has been defeated. If Assassin doesn't show up... he isn't in the camp?"

"That's why my Master has already gone to the battlefield." Caster remembered that Rider was a saintly female, the type of person he disliked the most. Based on what he saw through his Master's crystal ball, Attila was the direct cause, but the intentional involvement of Lancer, who let Jeanne attack Rider, should not be ignored. Combining it with Saber Gilles de Rais' "complaint" in the early morning, the Lancer group indeed cannot be trusted.

Coincidentally, Lancer's Master, who called himself "Seld," the magus from the city of Meso, was right next to Caster. If it weren't for the fact that Seld appeared to be a genuine puppet, Archer would have shot an arrow at Lancer's Master as well.

After receiving orders to intercept Archer, Caster secretly observed the puppet magus who accompanied him from a close distance. With his powers of observation, he could only discern that the true body controlling the puppet was not far away and that the puppet itself was merely a distracting prop.

Caster had a nauseating smile on his face, completely assuming a theatrical performance posture, which disgusted Archer greatly.

"Caster, do you think you can stop me alone?" Drawing her bowstring, Archer quickly shot an arrow. This time, the arrow accurately hit Caster's chest and pierced through a protective mirror, landing on the ground.

"Don't misunderstand, I'm just following orders. I can't match your strength, but I can keep delaying time. Demons aren't easily killed." Caster magically produced an identical hat and suddenly approached Archer as he bent over.

With a strange pair of scissors aimed at Archer's waist, Caster abandoned his previous cautious tactics and became even more manic, perhaps that was his true nature.

Archer turned and leaped away from Caster. She wasn't concerned about Caster's scissors, which served as his weapon, but rather her instinctual wariness towards an insane enemy who defied common sense. Archer could manage in close combat, especially against Servants of the Caster class.

While in motion, Archer continuously shot multiple arrows, and Caster, unable to keep up with the movements, didn't manage to dodge a single one and was hit by all of them.

However, despite having five arrows lodged in his body, Caster remained unharmed. He pointed towards the sky and transformed himself into a pile of timed explosives.

Amidst the piercing laughter, explosions erupted one after another, but Archer easily evaded them all. Apart from being covered in the dust raised by the explosions, she remained unaffected.

Caster's true form descended from mid-air. He was like a performer in a magical theater, toying with Archer, who possessed superior abilities.

"As you can see, my Master has granted me a Mystic Code that you have never heard of. Even though I am not even a third-rate Magus, I can still compete on the same stage as the heroes of Greek mythology. Is it a tragedy? Or a comedy?"

Caster's laughter only further enraged Archer. Lancer's Master, "Master Seld," stood within the fence of the camp, showing no intention of coming out to assist Caster.

"Master?" Archer remembered her own Master, who was assassinated within less than a day of their meeting, and her anger burned within her. "So, you lucked out with a flawless Master! Worthless trash!" Archer couldn't help but wish to tear apart the enemy before her, who was intentionally taunting her with those peculiar hats and stuffing one into his mouth.

Caster knew he couldn't defeat Archer, so to buy more time, he continued to provoke her. He planned to lure Archer away from the camp, so as not to involve the ordinary soldiers stationed there.

"But you've encountered the current new Master. The King who tramples civilizations, the Whip of God. Just hearing this title makes one feel an irresistible sense of admiration." Caster spared no effort in using his exaggerated expressions and actions to attract Archer's attention, playfully mocking a Servant stronger than himself. It brought Caster a sense of pleasure akin to indulging in forbidden drugs. He simply enjoyed witnessing the helpless expressions of others, including his own Master who had previously toyed with him.

Caster Mephistopheles, a fictional character derived from German opera, is a Servant who significantly deviates from the original demonic archetype. It's even a stretch to call him a Servant, as Caster Mephistopheles is more like a phantom spirit, with a false identity and weak abilities that differ greatly from normal Servants. Even Suzuki himself might not be able to recognize Caster's true name, as the real demon Mephistopheles is far from being a mere clown.

"She is not my Master," Archer angrily refuted Caster's statement and continuously shot arrows at him, piercing through the manifested illusions.

"You deceptive little man! Show your true abilities!" Archer looked around and noticed that Caster was still standing in the same spot, performing hat tricks and smiling at her.

Caster's smile became stiff, but he still had tricks up his sleeve to buy more time. However, what Archer had just revealed seemed too bizarre if it were true. Archer wasn't Atilla's Servant?

While evading the subsequent arrows, Caster immediately relayed this information to his Master, Aetius, through the connection of their Command Seals.

"I know." Aetius, who was busy evading Atilla's relentless attacks, acknowledged the message. As a noble magus, he couldn't afford to greet old acquaintances with weapons like a barbarian.

"She relies on the Holy Grail to provide mana for Archer. The ability to unleash a Noble Phantasm of that caliber, the Sword of Light, is also granted by the Holy Grail. Otherwise, I wouldn't believe she could use such magic." After briefly revealing himself earlier, Aetius confirmed Atilla's hands once again through the perspective of his familiar shadow, and there were no traces of Command Seals on her wrists.

He raised his hand and transformed the earth beneath his feet into an iron wall of the same volume, blocking Atilla's sword. Aetius temporarily created some distance between himself and Atilla. The way those barbarians greeted each other was too enthusiastic, and he couldn't withstand it. The magical power stored within a person and that of the Holy Grail were incomparable, especially for a mere 50-year-old magus.

"But it seems that she hasn't informed the other foreign magus she recruited." Only now did Aetius take a glance in the direction where Saber Jeanne and Lancer were engaged in battle. The young magus was observing the intense standoff between Berserker and Saber Gilles in the distance.