On a rooftop stood a girl in a red robe with a skirt and uniform on. She was in shock and horror because standing on a water canister above her was a Servant. The moonlight painted everything in silver and shadow, and the rooftop railings made a small cage around them. It felt like there was no way out.
"Hm, it seems you're a Master," the man with a blood-red lance and blue clothes with silver shoulder pads said, his voice calm and a little amused.
The girl looked all around, eyes flicking from fence to fence. She could feel the pressure of being boxed in on all sides. 'I'm boxed in on all sides,' she thought, muscles tensing.
"Hm, you seem clueless, but it seems you have the gist of things," he added as he rose from the canister, stretching his shoulders.
"Damn it. I guess I really blew it. I really shouldn't have spoken up," she muttered to herself, annoyed. He sighed and began to twirl his spear. "Curiosity got the better of me." He jumped down with a soft thunk and started to close the distance.
The attack came fast. He lunged in, spear arcing with a sound like a slicing wind. She jumped back nimbly, dodging and weaving through his strikes. As she moved, a chant left her lips and a faint blue glow crept up her legs, wrapping them in light and speed.
She launched herself off the edge of the rooftop. "Archer handled the landing," she called as she folded and tucked her arms, falling. Below, a man started to materialize in midair to catch her. His form was steady, a brief silhouette that steadied her before she touched the ground.
She stepped from his arms quickly and found her footing. Before she could fully turn, the lancer was already behind her with his lance ready to strike.
But the archer intercepted with a sword, the blade ringing against the lance. She spun and watched as Archer and Lancer eyed each other, ready to begin a proper duel. "Archer," she whispered, voice tense as she glanced at the sword in his hand.
The lancer grinned and readied his weapon. "Alright. That's more like it. I like people who get right down to business."
"You're a Lancer-class Servant, aren't you?" the girl asked, keeping her voice steady.
"Indeed. Now then, your Servant doesn't really strike me as a Saber. What are you, buddy?" He gripped his lance tighter, eyes narrowing.
The archer stood still, unreadable. The lancer snorted. "Huh. You don't seem like the proper single combat type, which makes you an Archer." He set his lance against the ground with a confident smile. "Take out your bow. I'm ready."
The archer remained silent. The girl's worry flared. "Archer?" she asked, hands clasped together. But archer turned to look at her and her expression changed. "That's right, Archer. You'll get no assistance from me right here, right now. Show me what you've got." Her voice carried resolve and fear both.
The archer merely chuckled, tightening his grip on the sword. Mana flared around him, a quiet storm. Then, in an instant, he vanished and reappeared to the right of the lancer. Steel met steel as swords and spear clashed. Archer pressed the attack without pause; the lancer deflected every blow.
Archer jumped and came down with a heavy strike. Lancer blocked and they exchanged a flurry of moves until Archer stepped back. "Gotcha," Lancer said as he dashed forward with blinding speed, closing the distance in less than a second and aiming a precise strike at the archer's chest.
Archer met the flurry and blocked, allowing a few of the lancer's attacks to strike and slide off. Lancer swiped and Archer vaulted over the sweep, using air momentum to slam into Lancer with a vicious overhead strike that smashed him backward into the rooftop tiles.
"This is it. A battle of Servants," the girl murmured, more to herself than anyone else, the words almost lost under the clash of steel.
Lancer scrambled up and launched another attack. Archer tried to block, but one swing shattered his sword. The blade snapped with a bright chime. "Go to hell," Lancer hissed, pushing his spear toward Archer's heart.
Suddenly the archer spoke and manifested two swords, their edges bright and humming with magic. He went for a chopping slash and Lancer barely managed to block. "A dual wielder, huh? So we have a mere bowman who thinks he's a swordsman," Lancer raged and pressed his assault.
They fought on, Lancer's pressure constant, Archer defending by conjuring new swords each time the old ones broke, the air filling with the smell of metal clashing. The rhythm continued until Lancer paused, breathing hard, a strange look on his face.
"Twenty-seven blades how much metal do you have under you?" he asked, baffled.
"Questions now, or do you want a break?" Archer replied finally, voice calm.
Lancer scoffed. "Trying to provoke me now, what a slight old coot."
"You know what? How about an introduction. I've never heard of a bowman who wields two swords," Lancer continued.
Archer ignored him for a moment, eyes focused. "You, on the other hand, are identifiable. There aren't many heroes this swift. There are barely three spearmen in the world with your talent. And you have the swiftness of a beast. That leaves just one."
The lancer grinned, pride bright in his face. "Ah, you flatter me, Archer." He hefted his spear, mana flaring around him like a visible halo. "Alright then. Will you face my mightiest blow?"
"I won't stop you. I'll defeat you sooner or later," Archer said. His voice was as steady as his stance.
The girl watched, heart pounding. "He won't last much longer. I have to do something," she thought, anxiety prickling.
Footsteps thudded nearby, sudden and fast. Someone dashed into the school building, and the lancer froze, startled. "Huh? Who's there?" he shouted, then bolted off in the direction of the noise.
On a distant rooftop sat a girl and a boy. They had been watching the commotion. The boy looked worried. "Master, should I help that boy? He's the one Sakura goes to see every morning," Rudeus said, voice low and urgent.
Luvia, arms crossed, glanced without hurry. "Hmm. You should see what happens to the boy first. Exposing ourselves needlessly is a bad thing. I'm sure Rin will have her Servant help the boy. If we really have to, you can heal him, can't you?" Her tone was matter of fact, but there was a corner of softness when she thought of the girl who cooked for Shirou.
Rudeus hesitated. "It would surely break my heart to see Sakura grieving over his death, knowing I could have stopped it." He sounded more sincere than usual.
The boy who had run into the school was Shirou Emiya. Rudeus had grown to respect him a little. From a distance, he seemed like a genuinely kind guy even if he was taken advantage of. In Rudeus's past life, he had reached king-tier healing with incantation, and now he had a personal skill that let him use magic without incantation. If he poured enough mana into it, he could definitely revive Shirou if he was beyond normal help.
Lancer had closed in. He pierced Shirou cleanly; the lancer's spear found the boy's heart. Rudeus sprang to his feet, ready to intervene, but then he saw Rin holding a pendant over Shirou's body, murmuring something under her breath. The lancer's attack finished, and he started to smile, but Rin's chant changed the air.
Rudeus watched as Rin muttered and then stepped back. Lancer, oddly, simply left. Leaves rustled and the pair dispersed. Rudeus blinked, then disappeared inside the school and rematerialized next to Shirou's crumpled form. He laid hands on the boy and wove healing mana into the wound. Slowly, color returned. The heart beat, faintly at first, then more strongly.
"What did she do?" Rudeus asked himself. He was quiet, puzzled. Rin had done something he hadn't expected.
He accelerated Shirou's healing process rather than performing a full revival, using less mana because the boy's heart had already been restored by whatever had happened moments ago. Rudeus saved just enough energy to preserve his reserves. He was glad; pulling a full resurrection would have cost him a huge amount of mana, and even his master could not easily replenish such a drain without feeling it.
He slipped back out and returned to his master before Shirou stirred. Luvia sat where he had left her, serene and composed. "So, is he alive?" she asked, almost casual, as if she were truly unbothered.
"He's alive. Somehow his heart was healed. I just accelerated his recovery. Do you know what happened?" Rudeus answered, calm.
Luvia's eyes glinted. "Yes. She carries a ruby pendant that stores vast amounts of mana. She probably used it to save Shirou's life," Luvia explained, tapping the stone lightly as if lecturing on a point of interest.
Rudeus inclined his head. It made sense. He felt someone lingering in the distance, as if watching from the shadows. He made a mental note to ensure Shirou got home safely. It would be a waste for him to die here.
"I know what you're thinking," Luvia said, voice softening a touch, "but we can't expose ourselves yet. I still want to wait until we can face Rin one versus one so that we have no distractions and can beat her." A smile tugged at her lips strategic and confident.
Rudeus hummed in agreement and crossed his arms.
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