The environment rippled and collapsed into chaos.
Everything familiar was gone, replaced by a world that resembled a surrealist painting. Every person still standing felt as though they'd been dragged into a living canvas.
"A Reality Marble?"
Someone identified the phenomenon that had turned reality inside out.
A Reality Marble. Classified as the grand magecraft closest to "True Magic," even designated a "forbidden spell" by the Mage's Association.
The materialization of one's inner mental landscape. Upon activation, it overwritten the "real world," dragging everything nearby into the caster's personal "world."
Shaped by the caster's psyche and experiences, only the most extraordinary individuals could manifest one.
"But that grotesque form... utterly revolting."
"A jester from a tragedy."
"How pitiable."
Uneven terrain. Alien streets. Thick smog drifting everywhere. And towering above it all, an "abstract" colossus.
Mounted on a bizarre black-and-white steed, clad in a crimson-and-multicolored dress, its head replaced by a candle that blazed with actual flame. It clutched an enormous spear.
The Witch of Despair: Ophelia!
A being that defied any rational understanding.
"This is bad!"
Waver, still supporting Lelouch, broke into a cold sweat. They hadn't escaped the range before being pulled in.
With Lelouch injured and the Knightmare destroyed, they were in extreme danger.
"Familiars?!"
Dark silhouettes materialized around them. Waver's heart hammered.
Clack!
Clack!
The shadows advanced in lockstep, military precision lending them an oppressive weight.
"!"
Lelouch, gasping through the pain, studied the enemy numbers and scrambled for a strategy.
They had to escape.
"AAAGH!!"
"We're done for!"
"Hah!"
CRACK!
The familiars lunged. Waver screamed. But a sharp battle cry cut through the chaos, and when he opened his eyes, Saber stood before him with her holy sword raised, Assassin guarding his flank.
"Huh? Saber? Assassin?"
An enormous wave of relief washed over him.
WHAM!
Without a word, Kenshin dodged one attack and punched a familiar into oblivion.
"Assassin, it seems you can still fight without a sword."
Glancing at him, Saber allowed herself a smirk.
"Barely. I wouldn't rely on it."
"I trained in swordsmanship, not pugilism."
Dispatching two or three familiars with his fists was manageable. But the army-like ranks ahead? Fighting through all of that barehanded was unrealistic.
The Kusanagi, thrown earlier, lay somewhere beneath the giant creature's feet. In his current state, retrieving it was suicidal.
"What naive fools you are."
Watching Saber and Assassin choose rescue over finishing him off, Lelouch couldn't decide whether to be impressed or exasperated.
"This isn't the time for infighting."
"If we don't work together, we'll all die."
Cutting down another wave of familiars, Saber spoke with conviction.
It wasn't hyperbole. Everyone was injured and exhausted, trapped inside an enemy's Reality Marble. Turning on each other now would be suicidal.
"She's right, Rider. We need to figure something out."
Looking sideways at Lelouch, Waver spoke earnestly.
He knew Rider distrusted everyone. But this wasn't the time for that.
"Figure what out?"
"Unless Saber has enough mana for another Excalibur, the three of us Servants combined can't chew through these numbers."
A self-deprecating laugh. Lelouch had already assessed the situation.
One critically wounded "scholar-emperor."
One swordsman without a sword.
One king running on magical fumes.
Never mind the logistics. Just handling the familiars swarming them was draining everything they had, let alone reaching the Witch herself.
"Both Lancer and Caster possess power that defies common sense."
"This extermination can't succeed without concentrating every Servant's strength!"
In hindsight, Risei's bounty summon had accidentally been the right call.
Facing either Caster or Lancer alone would have been nightmarish.
"Is now really the time for pessimism, Rider?"
"Heh. I'm not being pessimistic. I'm being realistic. Our only hope is Berserker and Archer out there."
"Whether they'll be as 'charitable' as you two? That I can't say."
Entrusting survival to others was the last thing Lelouch wanted. But with only Saber and Assassin present, he genuinely had no solutions.
What could a group running on fumes accomplish?
His Geass certainly couldn't affect a grotesque monstrosity like Ophelia.
Even if Kenshin retrieved his sword, he couldn't cut down something that enormous.
The only hope, Saber, lacked the mana for a second Excalibur.
Kiritsugu was unreachable inside the barrier. Expecting him to burn a Command Spell was fantasy. Not being betrayed and having Saber pulled away would already count as a win.
Surrounded by familiars, simply surviving was uncertain. Reaching the main body was out of the question.
"Wait."
Something clicked. Lelouch's mind began turning.
"There might be one more option."
"!"
"?"
"What option?"
Saber, Kenshin, and Waver froze, then listened while keeping their guard up.
"Kill Caster."
"Kill Caster?"
Saber didn't follow.
"Haven't you noticed? Throughout this entire fight, Lancer has never been constrained by mana loss despite having no Master."
"That proves she contracted a new Master."
"Given that Caster was always at her side, and Caster's own Master has also been dead for some time, the most logical conclusion is that Caster himself is her contractor."
"I don't know how he did it, but a magus who can use any spell imaginable probably has one that binds Servants too."
"And how do you know Caster's Master is dead?"
"Hmph. That I'll keep to myself. Believe me or don't."
Saber, Kenshin, and Waver all processed the theory.
Assuming Rider was correct, it made perfect sense. Nothing else explained why Caster and Lancer were so inseparable.
"But to find Caster in this army, when we don't even know his location..."
Waver surveyed the crushing horde. His mouth twitched.
This ironclad encirclement...
Could they really manage it?
"We can only stall and wait for an opening."
"Stalling is just a slow death."
"Maybe not."
"What?"
Hearing Saber's words, Lelouch narrowed his eyes. He detected confidence in her voice.
"Thanks to Avalon's regeneration, Assassin and I will gradually recover combat capability."
"The question is whether we'll be overwhelmed first, or survive long enough."
Kenshin understood Saber's meaning and explained.
"Then all we can do is try, isn't it?"
"There's no alternative."
'Avalon?'
Listening to their exchange, Lelouch surmised that both harbored secrets unknown to each other.
But as they spoke, a deafening rumble echoed from afar.
Every head turned. In the distance, Archer rose into the air in his golden armor, wielding a strange "sword."
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]