This Is My Holy Grail War [66]

A body like steel stood firm in front of Caster, completely halting Assassin’s advance.

“You’re kidding me!” Rin Tohsaka exclaimed in disbelief as Kuzuki Souichirou launched his counterattack.

But Assassin’s next move stunned everyone even more. After drawing Kuzuki into revealing his strength, she abruptly retreated.

Assassin was neither shocked nor disheartened by her attack being blocked. Instead, she regarded the meticulous man before her with unflinching seriousness. After her strike was stopped, she opted to disengage immediately.

Kuzuki’s serpentine martial arts froze midair as Assassin, a Servant of unparalleled agility in this Holy Grail War, chose retreat over engagement against a mere human.

With preparation, Assassin’s withdrawal from combat was effortless. Her superior agility ensured her safety as she disengaged.

“Hmm?” Kuzuki raised his head, realizing that Assassin had seen through his every move.

The [Serpent Fist]—a martial art with bizarre, unpredictable movements—was designed to confound opponents. Even against Servants, it could gain an advantage in an initial encounter.

Assassin, however, understood that Kuzuki Souichirou had undergone inhumanly rigorous training since childhood. His peculiar and precise martial techniques could even catch a Servant like Saber off-guard during their first clash.

“Impressive technique,” Assassin admitted, halting her retreat and narrowing her eyes at him. “But I’ve already seen through your moves.”

After only one—no, less than one—exchange, Assassin had memorized the trajectory of Kuzuki’s strikes.

Though her heightened agility and physical prowess allowed her to perceive and react to his attacks, she lacked formal martial training. While she could imprint his moves in her mind, she couldn’t fully analyze them.

“A Master’s duty is usually to support from the rear,” Assassin remarked, her voice steady. “But there are always exceptions. A Master who can fight a Servant head-on is rare indeed.”

“You dodged completely,” Kuzuki observed. “Before we even clashed, you predicted my intent. Was it warrior’s intuition? Or something else?”

“Since I can’t fully grasp your technique, I had to be cautious during our first encounter,” Assassin replied. “But in our next clash, your attacks will lose their edge. Your [Serpent Fist] is terrifying, striking forward while feeling like it’s coming from behind. Quite a dangerous opponent.”

Most present couldn’t follow the conversation between Kuzuki and Assassin—except for one.

Saber, who had honed her battle instincts over countless trials, understood their exchange. Though she relied on her innate Instinct skill in combat, her experience as a swordsman placed her among the greatest in history.

“Assassin… I didn’t think there’d be a warrior in this era capable of discussing martial arts with you,” Saber said. In her memory, Lancelot’s mastery of combat was unparalleled, even among the Knights of the Round Table.

Yet now, a mere human had forced “Lancelot” to retreat. Saber couldn’t have been more surprised.

“He is strong,” Assassin admitted. “But his techniques lose their potency after the first encounter.” She turned to Saber. “You’ve seen through his technique now, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I have,” Saber nodded. “Had I charged in recklessly, I would’ve been in serious trouble.”

Good. My effort wasn’t wasted, Assassin thought. Her strategy had succeeded.

Assassin wasn’t a true martial artist and found it difficult to handle someone like Kuzuki. However, by forcing Kuzuki to reveal his hand, she had allowed Saber to prepare herself.

“Then, I leave him to you,” Assassin said. “There shouldn’t be any problems, right?”

“None,” Saber replied, before pausing to ask, “You did this because you were worried about me, didn’t you, Assassin?”

Assassin hesitated briefly. “I just didn’t want you to suffer unnecessary losses,” she explained. “This man’s physical prowess is extraordinary—among modern humans, he’s one of the best.”

What is a Heroic Spirit? A Heroic Spirit is the crystallization of a particular era’s most exceptional talents. A manifestation of humanity’s collective hopes, their abilities transcend human limits.

Yet, as Iskandar once told Assassin, most Heroic Spirits were, at their core, ordinary humans during their lives.

The gap between modern and ancient humanity wasn’t as vast as it seemed. Especially for martial artists, the passage of time had done little to dull their determination to reach new heights.

Kuzuki Souichirou had pushed himself to the absolute limit of human potential.

While such individuals existed, they would still stand no chance against Servants, beings whose strength surpassed the physical limits of flesh and blood. Without caster’s reinforcement magic, Kuzuki wouldn’t even be able to touch a Servant, let alone fight one.

But with caster’s enchantments, Kuzuki had gained the ability to break through the barrier between human and supernatural, giving him the power to harm a spiritual body.

“Two Sabers?” Matou Shinji finally blurted, his voice trembling as he realized what he was seeing. “Wait… I can understand that Saber, but why is this Saber’s stat sheet so insane?!”

He gawked at Assassin’s parameters.

“Strength at B, and agility, endurance, and mana all at A?! All at A?! What the hell is going on here?!”

“And Kuzuki… fighting such a monster?!” Shinji gulped, stumbling backward into the chemistry lab. The teacher who had haunted him for so long now loomed even larger in his mind.

Even Rider’s [Mystic Eyes] would be useless against this Saber, wouldn’t they? Shinji thought, trembling as he peeked at Assassin.

“A-rank mana…”

Damn it! Such a powerful Servant, summoned by Tohsaka of all people. If only it were mine! Shinji clenched his fists, seething with envy.

What Shinji failed to realize, however, was that these stats weren’t entirely accurate.

—

This is a fan translation of 这是我的圣杯之战 by 向希望祈祷. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!