Contract, Command Spells, and Noble Phantasm

As Kaineth was busily drafting the contract, Shiki, through the Black Knight's perspective, witnessed Lancer's tenacious resistance on the battlefield.

One had to admit, Lancer was indeed a legendary warrior. Facing the Black Knight's tempestuous onslaught, he could still manage to hold his ground and avoid being defeated instantly.

"Could it be that Lancer has some special skill allowing him to last this long?"

Shiki wondered, finding it strange that Lancer could endure for so long against the Black Knight's immense power if he weren't special.

However, as the Master, Shiki's access was limited.

The Holy Grail only granted him the ability to detect the Servant's six basic parameters: Strength, Endurance, Agility, Magic, Luck, and Noble Phantasm.

As for the Servant's skills and the true capabilities of their Noble Phantasms, they remained shrouded in mystery, only to be discovered and guessed at during combat.

"Ah, well, if I can't figure it out, then so be it."

Shiki shook his head, no longer dwelling on it.

After all, even if Lancer could hold on, how much longer could he last? It would be better to verify his own hypothesis while the opponent hadn't yet fallen.

This way, he wouldn't have to trouble himself with figuring it out later.

At this moment, for the sake of his and Sola's lives, Kaineth was drafting the contract at the fastest speed he had ever achieved.

Time was of the essence; every second was crucial.

Finally, the contract was completed. He hurriedly handed it to Shiki, explaining with hurried speech, "Just input your magic, and you'll understand the contents."

This time, he was sparing with his words, not daring to waste another moment. Only upon the signing of this contract could he truly feel at ease.

Shiki followed his instructions, infusing magic into the contract. The ink on the parchment instantly glowed faintly, and the terms and meaning of the contract flooded into his mind like a tide.

"This is quite interesting."

Shiki murmured to himself. The contract terms were extremely favorable to him, indicating that Kaineth had given up many potential clauses in his desire to return home.

The most prominent clause was that once the contract was signed, he had to guarantee Kaineth and Sola's safe departure from Japan.

Shiki said decisively, "No problem. Let's sign the contract then."

"Wonderful!"

Kaineth was visibly relieved, his face filled with the joy of having narrowly escaped death.

This contract was not entirely fair to him, but to save his life, paying a price was worth it.

The contract signing process was not complicated. The moment Shiki's handprint was firmly pressed onto the parchment, the contract took effect immediately, exerting a powerful binding force on both parties.

At this point, Kaineth's hanging heart finally settled back into place. As long as Shiki did not violate the agreement, his and Sola's lives were secured.

Kaineth raised his hand, revealing the Command Spells on his wrist, and said, "Then, according to the agreement, we can hand Lancer over to you, Lord Shiki."

Shiki raised his hand to stop him, and after a moment of thought, he spoke, "The agreement states that if Lancer is handed over to me, it means he will obey me, right?"

Kaineth was slightly taken aback. After a brief silence, he nodded in confirmation, "You can understand it that way."

"Snap!"

Shiki snapped his fingers and said, "OK, since he'll obey me, then, Mr. Kaineth, and Miss Sola, please use all your Command Spells to strengthen Lancer."

Upon hearing this, Kaineth and Sola exchanged glances, their faces filled with confusion, completely failing to grasp Shiki's intention.

Kaineth asked hesitantly, "Lord Shiki, you mean for us to use our Command Spells to strengthen Lancer? This..."

"That's right, that's exactly what I mean," Shiki replied affirmatively.

Kaineth reluctantly complied, forcibly holding back a very unwilling Sola, and began to activate the power of the Command Spells.

"Holy Grail, use all Command Spells to restore and strengthen my Servant, Lancer, effective immediately, for one hour!"

As his words fell, the crimson Command Spells on Sola's wrist completely vanished.

Sola's expression was one of deep reluctance, as if she still cherished the peculiar connection she had with Lancer.

Fortunately, they cooperated to a degree. In return, Shiki smiled and lifted the curse from Sola.

In an instant, Sola seemed to awaken from a dream. She blinked, covered her face with her hands, squatted down, and began to cry.

This sudden turn of events left Shiki somewhat bewildered, "What's wrong now?"

"Waaah—Kaineth, I, I'm so sorry!" Sola cried out.

"..."

Shiki understood this statement without needing a translation.

My goodness, there's even something like this happening!

Shiki blinked his eyes. Am I perhaps in a bit of an awkward situation here?

He cleared his throat, reminding Kaineth.

The latter seemed to snap back to reality and quickly pushed his wheelchair to Sola's side, comforting her softly.

Kaineth was pleasantly surprised to find the familiar Sola he knew had returned. This made him both astonished by Shiki's methods and overjoyed by his fiancée's recovery, secretly thankful that their future life would no longer be plagued by unpleasant matters.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Lancer, in his fierce engagement with the Black Knight, was ultimately unable to withstand the opponent's ferocious power. His spear was struck from his grasp, and he himself was sent flying from the factory roof to the ground by the immense impact.

However, enduring the pain within his body, he turned and leaped, quickly moving away from his original position. If he hadn't dodged, his life would have been forfeit.

"Boom!"

The Black Knight's dive bomb struck the ground, creating a large crater.

Taking a step forward, he swung the Demon Sword in his hand, aiming straight for the defenseless Lancer. This strike was meant to be a sure kill.

At the critical moment, Lancer suddenly felt as if time had frozen. An incredibly powerful surge of mana erupted from within his body. The sheer magnitude of this mana was tens of times greater than his own.

"This is!! Command Spells!!"

Lancer instantly understood what had happened.

The mana capacity of an ordinary Magus was far inferior to that of a Servant. Even though he wasn't particularly skilled at controlling mana, the amount he could wield was twenty times that of a regular Magus.

With such a massive amount of mana surging within him, there was almost no other explanation besides Command Spells.

"Lord Kaineth, Lady Sola!"

A warm current flowed through Lancer's heart. Only with the full support of these two Masters could he obtain such immense power.

In an instant, Lancer's injuries rapidly healed, his stamina was replenished, and his physical capabilities were greatly enhanced.

This unprecedented feeling ignited the fighting spirit deep within him, his battle intent burning like a raging inferno.

Mana overflowed around Lancer. Facing the Black Knight's fatal sword strike, he easily dodged it with his doubled agility, then delivered a powerful kick to the Black Knight's chest.

"Bang!!"

A powerful shockwave erupted, and the Black Knight, in his astonishment, plunged headfirst into the collapsing factory ruins. Accompanied by rumbling sounds, the factory's chain reaction of collapses lasted only a dozen seconds before the Black Knight was completely buried beneath the debris.

With his battle intent at its peak, Lancer reached out to recall his flying crimson spear and roared, "Lancelot!!! I know you're alright, come out! Let's fight again!!!"

"Boom!"

The ruins exploded, and a figure shot up into the sky, landing not far from Lancer. It was the Black Knight, Lancelot.

He gazed at Lancer with a grave expression. Lancer now was brimming with fighting spirit, his mana surging, and the enhancement to his physical abilities was astonishing.

He had neither dodged nor managed to intercept Lancer's kick just now; the opponent's speed was beyond his wildest imagination.

"Diarmuid, you've… changed!" Lancelot exclaimed with emotion.

Lancer at this moment was a completely different person from before, his spirit and energy having undergone a seismic shift.

The Lancer from before, while full of fighting spirit, was nowhere near as potent as he was now. From his spirit to his body, it was as if he had broken through his original limitations and reached the same spiritual foundation limit as Lancelot.

"Lancelot, you're right, I have changed!"

Lancer brandished his spear, the crimson Noble Phantasm emitting waves of red light. Unprecedented mana condensed at the tip of the spear, causing the Noble Phantasm's danger level to skyrocket.

The Black Knight inwardly grew wary. He had no doubt that the power of this crimson Noble Phantasm had surpassed its original level limitations.

A Noble Phantasm that could previously only sever mana could now likely cut through magic itself with ease.

He couldn't help but speculate, "Lancer's transformation is likely inseparable from his Master."

Recalling his Master's gaze from before, Lancelot became even more certain that this was all his Master's doing.

"Master must want to see the limits of this Noble Phantasm, or even surpass them!! Only such powerful Noble Phantasm functions are what Master desires!!"