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*****
"A curse… no—this is Gáe Bolg, the spear that reverses causality.
You're the Child of Light from Ireland!"
The moment the female Saber saw Lancer's technique, she immediately recognized the Heroic Spirit's true identity.
In the Holy Grail War, there was an unspoken strategy:
Heroic Spirits would avoid revealing their identities at the start.
Once their true names were known, opponents could infer their Noble Phantasms from legend and find ways to counter them.
And unless two Servants had met in a previous Holy Grail War, they generally didn't recognize each other—heroes came from all different eras, after all.
"Tch, so I've been exposed."
Cu clicked his tongue and drew back the spear.
"But whatever. No one can survive that strike. I'll just take you down too—fewer competitors to worry about!"
Even though his identity was revealed and his attack had been witnessed, he wasn't concerned. He had complete confidence in his strength and his technique.
Hadn't that monstrously strong magus just been killed with a single blow?
"Mr. Maple Tree, are you okay?!"
Seeing George get pierced through the heart, Emiya Shirou grabbed a reinforced branch he'd found nearby and bravely rushed forward to shield him.
He knew he couldn't beat Lancer—but he would still protect the one who saved him.
However, another figure stepped into his path.
"Take him aside and heal him first. I'll handle Lancer."
It was the female Saber. She clasped her hands and an invisible sword appeared there, unseen but unmistakable.
Since he intended to eliminate her here, she would simply kill him first and remove a rival.
"Um… I'm fine, actually. How about you two step back and only jump in after I lose?
Otherwise it'll look like we're ganging up on him—very unchivalrous, you know."
Just as Saber and Lancer were about to clash, a relaxed voice spoke up behind them.
"Mr. Maple Tree… y-you're okay?!"
Shirou stared, dumbstruck, as the gaping hole in George's chest visibly repaired itself, and he let out a startled cry.
"This can't be—I definitely hit him!"
Saber and Shirou moved aside, revealing George's unharmed torso. Cu Chulainn's pupils shrank in disbelief.
"Sorry, I'm a tree. Trees don't have hearts. At most you just poked a knot."
George took two steps forward and beckoned to Lancer with a smile.
"Again—show me what else you've got."
That previous causality-based strike really had pierced his defenses and body.
But purely physical attacks, even if they landed, couldn't harm him.
This avatar was a tree—trees don't have hearts. Even if his form were entirely human, piercing his heart wouldn't be fatal.
Even if his body were reduced to cells, with his current regeneration and magic, he could restore himself instantly.
Unless his soul were directly erased or sealed, he was functionally immortal.
"So you really are a tree, huh. Hmph—my Master's a coward. He used a Command Seal to order me to retreat if that move failed. Looks like I'll deal with you another time."
Cu didn't attack again. He withdrew his spear and leapt onto the rooftop.
"You're running?"
Saber frowned, questioning him.
That clearly struck Cu's pride. He turned back with a frosty look.
"Run? I'm only withdrawing for now. But if any of you give chase, be ready to die."
With that, he leapt up to leave.
Bang!
The next instant, he slammed into something invisible—like crashing into a glass wall—and bounced back into the yard.
"What the—?"
He landed on his feet, rubbing his bruised forehead, confusion all over his face.
George took a couple steps forward and smiled.
"Sorry. I just placed a barrier around the yard. Without my say-so, no one leaves."
"If you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish!"
Cu's expression twisted with fury. He poured all his mana into the spear, vaulted high into the sky, and took a throwing stance.
"You don't have vital points as a tree? Then I'll vaporize your entire body—die! Gáe Bolg: Soaring Death Flight Spear!"
When used alone, his Noble Phantasm ensured causality reversal and guaranteed hit.
But to activate it, he needed time to set his stance and couldn't be interrupted—and the target had to be within range.
Against someone whose wounds could be regenerated or who ignored normal damage, he needed the second mode of the spear.
At this moment, the Noble Phantasm shifted from anti-personnel to anti-army. It no longer guaranteed a hit through causality, but its destructive power could level a city.
This attack, however, would drain all his mana.
The crimson spear, packed with colossal energy, shot down at George from above like a blazing meteor.
The pressure alone made Saber tense, tightening her grip on her invisible sword, ready to intervene the moment George faltered.
As for Shirou, an apprentice magus, he could barely breathe—his whole body stiff with shock.
"This kind of attack is boring."
Faced with such a terrifying strike, George actually shook his head.
To him, that causality-based thrust had been far more interesting—something worth studying.
Mass destruction techniques like this were trash. He already knew countless spells that could produce equal or vastly greater effects.
"Stop."
As the crimson spear was just about to touch his forehead, George spoke a single word.
At his voice, the spear froze in midair as if hit by a petrification spell.
The immense red energy within dispersed into nothing.
"So that's all you can do. Time to end this."
Sensing new Masters and Servants approaching from afar, George grabbed the crimson spear and instantly flashed to the stunned Lancer.
"Sleep."
He struck Cu with a refined Stunning Spell, then stored him temporarily in his own small world.
Though a Noble Phantasm, the spear was still metal—and metal was under his control.
As for that vast energy—why had it disappeared?
Simple: he practiced Qi Body Source Flow and devouring magic. Energy attacks like that were useless against him.
"What a terrifying magus…"
Saber couldn't help but sigh inwardly as she watched George so casually nullify Lancer's attacks, then knock him out and seal him away somewhere unknown.
Even for her, without knowledge of his tricks, blocking either of those two techniques from Lancer would've been difficult.
(End of this chapter)