This Is My Holy Grail War [67]

Assassin wasn’t mimicking Shirou Emiya’s Saber but rather the Saber summoned by Kiritsugu Emiya in the previous Holy Grail War.

As a result, Assassin’s stat sheet appeared one rank higher than Shirou’s Saber. Among all the Servants present, her parameters seemed the most impressive—even if it was all an illusion.

This deceptive display wasn’t for Assassin’s own glory. With the Noble Phantasm’s camouflage effect, Assassin had taken on the guise of a formidable swordsman, posing as a significant threat.

Caster, hidden beneath her hood, scrutinized the two Sabers standing before her. Though identical in appearance, their movements and attributes subtly differed. Behind them were two youthful Masters—students, as Kuzuki had informed her—indicating an alliance.

What should I do?

Caster felt a pang of hesitation. Both sword-wielding Servants were nearly indistinguishable. Which one was the true Saber?

One of the Servants was referred to as an Assassin, but Caster herself had summoned a rogue Servant outside the rules—her Assassin.

This left her perplexed, yet she needed to discern their roles. If either was truly Saber, they would possess the powerful [Magic Resistance] skill, making them her worst possible matchup.

Saber, after all, was the most powerful class in the Holy Grail War. High stats across the board made them formidable.

Convinced by this logic, Caster misjudged Assassin as the Sword Servant and Saber as a lesser-ranked class.

Caster focused her attention on the weaker of the two, calculating a way to exploit this perceived weakness.

“Matou,” Caster addressed Shinji, “that’s what I should call you, right? Master of Rider.”

She gestured toward Assassin. “That Saber who attacked Kuzuki-sama is yours to handle.”

“The stronger one? Why me?!” Shinji protested, visibly reluctant.

“Switching roles is fine,” Caster replied, glancing at him with mild disdain. “We’ll hold her off, and you can have Rider defeat the weaker Saber and then assist us. Sound fair?”

“Uh… no, never mind,” Shinji muttered, grumbling as he turned to Rider. “Rider, hold her off! With all the mana you’re getting here, don’t you dare lose!” His voice wavered with a mix of nervousness and forced bravado.

The memory of Kuzuki’s earlier performance against the Servants left an indelible mark on Shinji. With such a powerful teacher supported by Caster, they couldn’t possibly lose—or so he convinced himself.

Shinji’s lack of magical talent rendered him incapable of supplying mana to Rider effectively. Rider, thus, had perpetually been in a state of mana deficiency.

However, the [Bloodfort Andromeda] was draining mana from the entire school to bolster Rider, compensating for Shinji’s inadequacy. This was the pinnacle of Rider’s strength under Shinji’s command.

Unbeknownst to Caster and Shinji, this was exactly what Assassin had hoped for.

Assassin preferred battling Rider over Caster. With Shinji as her Master, Medusa posed far less of a threat than a spell-slinging Caster in her prime.

The sound of clinking chains echoed as Rider emerged from the chemistry lab, mechanical and obedient. Passing by Caster, she lashed her chains forward, and a short blade at the end of the whip shot toward Assassin like a silver comet.

The air rippled with the blade’s speed, its sharp trajectory producing an ear-splitting sonic boom.

BOOM! CLANG!

Assassin deflected the whip with a horizontal swing of her sword, effortlessly breaking the attack. A streak of blue light traced a clean arc through the air, marking the corridor.

Without hesitation, Assassin pressed forward, her expression cold and deadly.

Her blade came crashing down in a merciless strike.

The next attack followed a vertical trajectory, adding a second streak of blue light to the horizontal one—a diagonal cross drawn unconsciously in the air.

Rider’s reflexes saved her from a fatal blow, but not without cost. A strand of her violet hair fell to the floor as she smashed through a nearby window and leaped out of the building. Assassin immediately gave chase.

“I see… Using me as the distraction,” Saber muttered, steadying her stance. Though she disapproved of involving innocents in the Holy Grail War, she acknowledged the tactical merits of Caster’s adaptation.

“Even so, I trust in my knight!” she declared.

The sound of shattering glass faded into the distance, accompanied by the echoes of combat from outside. Saber steeled herself. As long as she held the line and ensured the safety of the two Masters, victory was within reach.

—

Outside the building, Assassin pursued Rider relentlessly. The two sprinted across vertical walls, their movements synchronized with the terrain.

Rider’s unparalleled mobility was countered by Assassin’s equally superior agility. No matter how Rider maneuvered, Assassin remained a shadow at her back, ready to deliver a fatal strike.

“You’re wearing a blindfold. Is it to seal some kind of [Mystic Eye]?” Assassin called out, maintaining her pursuit.

“You haven’t used it yet, though. Why is that? With all this mana, it can’t be due to a lack of power. Is it restricted? Perhaps it doesn’t work against Servants who meet certain thresholds in mana, endurance, or magic resistance?” She taunted Rider, hoping to provoke her into revealing her trump card.

The chase mirrored Assassin’s past hunts through urban jungles. To her, this was familiar territory. Though the events of the previous Holy Grail War felt like decades ago to others, to Assassin, they were recent memories.

While she lacked Rider’s equipment, her enhanced agility allowed her to match Rider’s speed and mobility.

Rider tried engaging Assassin directly but found herself outmatched in nearly every parameter. Unable to overpower her foe, she focused on evading and seeking an opportunity to escape.

The [Bloodfort Andromeda] empowered Rider but confined her within its boundaries. If she left the area, Shinji’s meager mana reserves would be insufficient to sustain her.

She resolved to hold her ground and stall Assassin as ordered. However, as the skirmish escalated, Rider decided to unleash her [Mystic Eyes].

Just as Rider prepared to lift her seal, Shinji interrupted through their shared connection.

Don’t use your [Mystic Eyes] on her! It won’t work! Her mana is A-rank—too high! Shinji’s voice was frantic. How can a Servant have mana this high if she’s not even Caster? You won’t be able to petrify her. Don’t waste it!

Rider tried explaining her intent wasn’t petrification but suppression. Shinji, however, dismissed her reasoning with an impatient order.

That precious mana we’ve gathered—you’re going to waste it? Disengage and use your [Mystic Eyes] on the other Saber with B-rank mana! That one will definitely work!

Though irritated, Rider obeyed. Shinji’s logic wasn’t entirely unfounded.

Yes, that’s it! Look at her with your [Mystic Eyes]! Shinji thought triumphantly, already envisioning Saber as a lifeless statue under Rider’s gaze.

—

T/N: LMAO

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!