Aoko Aozaki, Alice Kuonji, and Touko Aozaki.
They were the first figures from the world of magecraft I encountered, and simultaneously, the first members of the organization I formed to prevent the damnation of the coming futures.
While Touko Aozaki was recruited under somewhat semi-forced circumstances, none have supported my activities as much as these three.
Alice-san, who first pulled me into the world of 'Magic,' has assisted me by lending her 'Great Three' Ploy Kickshaws and even leveraging her authority as a land owner during the Tsukihime incident. Aoko-nee, a True Magician, acted as my temporary guardian within the magecraft society and became a stalwart supporter after my impersonation of the Third Magician.
And then there is Touko Aozaki.
While the assistance of Aoko-nee and Alice-san is indeed precious beyond any price, it cannot help but pale in comparison to Touko Aozaki's practical contributions.
The creation of 'Perfect' Pain Puppets, the adjustment of Mystic Eyes—a feat usually reserved for the Rail Zeppelin—the fine-tuning of various Mystic Codes... and this time, the trap known as the Box of Sealing that swallowed Jack the Ripper.
"Great job, Ritsuka!"
"Alright, everyone, push them back now!"
The Box of Sealing that mimicked Ritsuka was one of those 'spare lives' I had mentioned to Paracelsus previously.
Had I merely used a basic corpse puppet or disguised it as one of the Six Paths of Pain, the Servants would have surely noticed. However, Touko Aozaki's puppetry involves replicating a subject down to the genetic level, creating a copy capable of even hosting the original's ego.
She is an individual who nearly faced a Sealing Designation because her craft touched the realm of True Magic... It was only natural it would work on a Servant. Techniques that reach the domain of 'Magic' tend to be effective even against Heroic Spirits—much like Shirou Emiya's Projection Magecraft.
While Nikola Tesla faltered, stunned by the sudden death of his comrade, the Servants charged in unison, focusing their fire upon him.
"…Insignificant commoners! You fools who dare defy me without knowing the true terror of the future!!!"
"Insignificant? And if we're talking about the future, we know a hell of a lot more about it than you!"
Mordred and Gareth swung their lance and Clarent respectively.
A massive bolt of lightning formed a repulsive force, knocking Clarent aside, but Gareth capitalized on the opening, charging forward to tear through Tesla's right flank. Simultaneously, Paracelsus's elementals poured water over the Archer, suppressing his Prana Burst.
Elementals detonated with thunderous roars, and as Mash's shield pinned him into a corner of the Albion tunnels…
"By the power of my Command Spell, I order you... Unleash your Noble Phantasm, Mordred!"
Ritsuka, who had been hiding within the Naraka Path, issued the command. It was a simple, direct order, but its manifestation was grand.
The Assassin who would have inevitably aimed for the opening created during a Noble Phantasm release had already been consumed and dismissed by the Box of Sealing. Even searching with the Rinnegan, I could find no trace of the King of Storms' magical signature. Tesla, standing near the walls of the mausoleum where the toxic mist—secreted by Babbage—originated, glared at Ritsuka through the dissipating fog.
Accepting the order at the perfect moment, Mordred gave a savage grin and raised Clarent high.
"Fine… This is Clarent! The sword that slew my father and brought the age of kings to an end!"
[Clarent Blood Arthur!!!!]
The blade was shrouded in crimson aurora, and red lightning, distinct from Nikola Tesla's, began to arc through the air. The lightning coalesced, mirroring King Arthur's Excalibur, and erupted forward as a massive linear beam. At that same moment, Paracelsus's elementals cut off Tesla's retreat.
"…In that case, I shall answer with everything I have!!"
Blue currents, contrasting Mordred's red lightning, began to condense in his arm.
"The lightning of the gods is here. Ancient heroes, sleep here and now!"
[System Keraunos!!!]
The sight of beam clashing against beam was a spectacle that embodied the very definition of a 'man's romance.'
The other Servants, having retreated to avoid the shockwave of colliding Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasms, watched the two pouring their entire souls into the struggle, fervently rooting for Mordred.
In terms of raw output, Nikola Tesla, backed by the Holy Grail, should have had the advantage. Even a Knight of the Round Table with fame bonuses cannot easily overcome a Heroic Spirit supported by the Grail. However, bolstered by two simultaneous Command Spells, Mordred's output reached parity, and the Servants watched intently for the decisive split-second.
Or rather… they tried to watch.
Let's play house.
Let's have a fun game.
The Hound of the Rose howling in the corner.
The lizard with venomous fangs whose gaze is death.
Monster in the mist, beware the steamship.
Now, it is time to end the game.
[Reveal yourself, Bandersnatch]
*
As I had recalled, those three were my greatest allies.
And that support remains unchanged even now.
"Haa… Ugh, I'm dying… Mister, was this really necessary?"
"Don't call me 'Mister'… Actually, forget it."
"Wait, what on earth is that? It looks like a mist similar to the toxic fog… No, it's no ordinary mist. It's a type of Reality Marble manifested in the form of fog…"
As expected of Holmes.
He succeeded in discerning its true nature in an instant.
"…Why didn't you use this until now? We could have broken through much sooner."
"That thing is the type where escape becomes possible the moment you perceive its overall form and true identity. You know Nursery Rhyme's Noble Phantasm? It's something similar to that."
Ritsuka, who had spent time playing with Nursery Rhyme alongside Mash back at the hideout, explained.
"…Senpai, did you know about that Noble Phantasm?"
"It's what Karma-san told me. One of either Nikola Tesla or the King of Storms would block our path, and an Assassin would try to kill the Master. Karma said he'd be fine, but I'd definitely die if the Assassin got to me, right?"
This was the tactic I had disguised as a mere 'spare life' or 'self-protection measure' to Zolgen and Paracelsus.
"So we decided to save it for the most critical moment. Once the Assassin trying to kill the Master was dealt with, we knew the enemies would be caught off guard if we entered a contest of Noble Phantasm strength!"
"…So you literally gambled your life?"
"Ah, oops."
While Ritsuka was being grilled by Mash, I continued the explanation to the other Servants.
"If we hadn't caught him in that state, Tesla would have surely used the Holy Grail's link to analyze that Noble Phantasm. Even for the consulting detective over there, that would be a difficult task, but…"
"…I see. With the Pioneer of the Stars, an ability to defy destiny…"
"Exactly. Tesla might have been able to escape. It's a Bounded Field that is theoretically impossible to leave, but he's the type of guy who turns 'impossible' on its head."
At that moment, with a clicking sound, the fog dissipated, and a small sphere-like object dropped to the floor. I used Bansho Ten'in to pull it into my hand. Ritsuka, having barely escaped Mash's nagging clutches, trotted over to look at the Bandersnatch.
"Is that the… Super Three thing?"
"…It's the Great Three, Ritsuka. And don't mess up the name in front of Alice-san. Many magi take great pride in these things."
"Yup! Got it!"
While Mash shook her head in the background, Paracelsus and Holmes examined the spot where Tesla and the Bounded Field had vanished without a trace.
"It doesn't seem he escaped via Command Spell recall or any other method. He likely suffered direct Spirit Core damage and was dismissed."
"In that case… the only remaining target is the center of the toxic mist inside the mausoleum."
In that instant, we all felt it intuitively.
Though we had broken the outer defenses and pushed through the Servant line, we possessed a certainty that moving forward would lead us to an encounter with that enemy we had met only once before.
As we moved through the thick toxic fog pushed aside by Paracelsus's elementals, we saw the Holy Grail. It was bubbling with a grotesque chemical, much like the mud-overflowing Grail I had seen in Fuyuki, spewing white smoke into the air.
However, everyone's gaze was immediately drawn to the figure standing behind the Grail.
Mounted upon a horse that appeared more dead than alive, the figure leveled a lance at us. Neither a smirk nor a sneer, nor even a flicker of expression crossed her face; she simply observed us with a cold, hollow gaze.
"The polymath, the assassin… it seems all have fallen."
"…Yeah. They were pretty weak for bosses."
"Right? Compared to that ginormous dragon or the Angra Mainyu that was rampaging in Fuyuki, they were total lightweights."
"Hmph."
Prana surged into the lance she held—an armament far larger than even the one Gareth carried—and it began to rotate.
Lightning similar to Mordred's began to condense, but its depth was beyond anything Mordred could currently match. Finally, raising her spear, she shouted at the top of her lungs.
"This shall be the end! Prove to me that you possess the strength to advance past me, Chaldea!!"