I'm the One in Control of Everything!!!

"Ma'am, whose name I do not know, are you really a Caster?"

"Hmph, could I possibly be a Lancer instead?"

"Would a magus fight enemies in close combat like you do?"

"What's wrong with being taught by Master Gandoufu?!"

"..."

The conversation could not continue because one side had no idea who this so-called "Master Gandoufu" was. More importantly, he could no longer maintain the ease he had displayed at the start.

The Caster before him, who had been tangling with him using a pair of gleaming twin blades and clumsy swordsmanship, used the force of one of his strikes to retreat beyond his attack range. She then summoned a Noble Phantasm shaped like a staff—considering her class, it was probably Caster's mage staff. The instant she switched weapons, Caster's fighting spirit became incomparably sharp. Even the foremost knight of the Knights of Fianna could not help but shudder.

"Come on, let's fight to our hearts' content!"

Lancer appeared almost at the same time as Caster—after all, even a magus who was not skilled at calculation could clearly see how to choose between a Command Seal and his own life, could he not? Yet although Kayneth understood that logic, the dissatisfaction in his heart did not lessen in the slightest.

Damn it. He had clearly been about to finish off that little rat, but Caster's interference had forced him to lose a Command Seal. I'll remember this debt.

Then, before Lancer dealt with Caster—in Kayneth's eyes, this battlefield was not her workshop, and his side had a Lancer who excelled at close combat, so killing Caster was a sure thing—he would first deal with this fellow who should have died by his hand long ago...

Hm? Where did he go?

As the saying went, it took a month to learn the staff, a year to learn the saber, and a lifetime to learn the spear. Of all weapons, staff techniques were the easiest to pick up. But that ease of entry also meant something else—it was easy to learn but difficult to master. So while anyone with a little martial arts foundation could perform a few staff moves, very few people made the staff their primary weapon.

After all, no one wanted to train painstakingly for decades only to achieve mediocre results, right?

But for Jizi, staff techniques were practically the most suitable martial art possible—she had no intention of mastering them anyway. As long as she could quickly reach a level where she could put on a decent display, that was enough. That was why she had copied Sun Wukong's Golden Cudgel and paired it with a set of Shaolin Yin Hand Staff techniques.

And now, this was the first time her amateur skills had seen actual combat. Judging by the results, they had already far exceeded Jizi's expectations.

After all, her original plan had merely been to hold Lancer back and create an opportunity for Kiritsugu to escape his predicament. Yet the actual situation was that Lancer...

...seemed to have been suppressed by Jizi. He had taken several blows to his body—especially that handsome little face of his. Although Jizi's tragic Rank D Strength meant that even striking his face did not cause Lancer much real damage, it still dealt him a severe psychological blow.

Damn, Caster really was worthy of her class. Once she took out her "staff," her combat power shot up several floors—my ass! What kind of magus used a "staff" like that?! She was charging in for close combat again! Master Gandoufu was actually a martial arts master, wasn't he?! And the patterns of this "staff technique" were bizarre as hell! Her moves contained all sorts of counterattacks! Her movements completely ignored normal logic! Striking high while aiming low, feinting east and attacking west, attacking left then right—those were still manageable, but the most important thing was—damn it, whether it really was a mage staff or not, it was still a staff by appearance! Use staff techniques like staff techniques! A staff swept across a wide area, while a spear thrust along a line, but you did not sweep or chop—you kept poking and thrusting! Could it be that you were actually the Lancer?!

After another strike hit him in the face, Lancer took several steps back with the momentum and wiped the blood from his nose. "I truly underestimated you just now. I never expected a Caster to possess such martial skill. But why do your attacks keep aiming for my face...?"

"Well... I don't know what's going on either. Whenever I see that mole on your face, this irritated feeling keeps stirring in my heart. To put my mind at ease..."

"Ahahaha... By the way, Caster, since it is you fighting me here rather than Saber, does that mean your two groups have reached some sort of agreement?" Upon hearing her mention his mole, Lancer could only laugh awkwardly and steer the topic away... One only had oneself to blame.

Seeing that Lancer seemed inclined to chat, Jizi showed nothing on her face, but inwardly she let out a huge sigh of relief. She looked like she had the upper hand just now, but she had merely benefited from the peculiar nature of her techniques. Lancer, who specialized in the practical techniques honed through battlefield combat by knights, naturally felt unable to direct his strength properly when facing the thirty-six forms of Shaolin Yin Hand Staff, which emphasized "yin"—that was, overcoming hardness with softness and blending hardness with softness. Furthermore, Shaolin staff techniques were originally the ancestors of many spear techniques, so they naturally had remarkable effects against spear attacks.

But as the battle dragged on, Lancer had begun to figure out the patterns of Jizi's moves—after all, his martial foundation surpassed hers by several streets. Just like that final strike earlier, Jizi had put all her strength into it, unleashing Rank D+ explosive force. By her calculations, after taking that blow, Lancer should not have been able to cause trouble again tonight. Yet when receiving the attack, Lancer had used his own skill to deflect most of its force. In the end, although he was still struck, all he suffered was a nosebleed.

What was more, Jizi's own Rank D Endurance could not hold out much longer. If they kept fighting, once her techniques were seen through and her stamina failed to keep up, Jizi would definitely die. In fact, if her opponent had not been Lancer but an enemy using another weapon, Jizi would have died long ago—her Shaolin staff techniques merely happened to counter spears somewhat. Still, given this situation, was it not just what one would expect from Luck E?

So, in order to buy herself some time to rest, Jizi had already begun drafting a long speech in her head, preparing to have an extended conversation with Lancer. Hopefully, Kiritsugu could successfully escape during that time, or even kill Kayneth in return. Otherwise, she would have no choice but to use a Command Seal to summon Saber over.

"Lancer, even if we formed an alliance, there would be nothing strange about it. After all, there is already..."

Jizi did not finish her sentence, but Lancer still caught her meaning and even continued for her. "With that Archer's combat ability combined with Assassin's scouting methods, there truly would be no chance of victory if we fought alone."

"Yes, Lancer. Today's battle was entirely an accident. Why don't we stop here? At least until we deal with Archer's group, I do not wish to start any more meaningless conflicts. Besides, did you not also promise Saber a duel?"

"Your proposal is indeed tempting, but I'm sorry. My lord does not seem to share that idea."

"But..."

"You've rested enough already, haven't you?!"

Lancer's words startled Jizi slightly, but she quickly accepted it. Lancer might have been a bit stubborn, but that did not mean he was stupid. It was not strange for him to see through her little scheme. But if she could not stall for time through conversation, things would become difficult—

"At first, you caught me off guard. But now I have seen through your techniques! Caster, if you cannot display some abilities befitting your class, or if you have no more tricks left, then leave the stage here!"

The twin spears danced once more, but this time, the balance between offense and defense had completely reversed.

"Damn it, did he take several of my blows that could not damage his bones just to figure out my staff techniques? I thought I was the one controlling the situation, but was I the one being controlled instead?!"

Just as Jizi struggled to fend off Lancer's increasingly oppressive attacks and was about to be unable to hold on, Lancer suddenly withdrew his stance and cried out in terror, "My lord!"

"Whew, did I make it in time, Miss Maiya?"

To roughly define Jizi's strength, as the text said, she could gain a slight advantage against other Servants through the special nature of her techniques. But that came with the two massive conditions of "first time" and "short duration." If either condition was not met, then she was absolutely—dead—certain.

Still, she would not have many opportunities to directly clash with other Servants later anyway.

As for Assassin, his close-combat ability was slightly stronger than Caster's, but his overall strength was somewhat worse.