I Am The One Who Controls Everything!!!

"Lady of unknown name, are you truly the Caster Class?"

"Hmph, could I possibly be the Lancer?"

"Would a Magus engage in close combat with an enemy like this?"

"Is it not permissible for me to have studied under Master Gandoufu!"

"..."

The reason the conversation couldn't continue was that one party didn't know who this "Master Gandoufu" was, and more importantly, he could no longer maintain the casual demeanor he'd started with.

The Caster opposite him, wielding a pair of glowing twin blades and employing clumsy sword techniques while locked in combat, used the force of one of his attacks to retreat out of his attack range. She then summoned a staff-like Noble Phantasm—considering her Class, it was likely Caster's staff. With this weapon, Caster's battle aura instantly became incredibly sharp, causing even the foremost knight of the Knights of Fianna to tremble.

"Come on, let's fight!"

It's always bad for readability when you keep using flashbacks, but I just can't help it, what can I do?

Almost simultaneously with Caster's appearance, Lancer also appeared—even if one wasn't a Magus skilled in calculation, the choice between a Command Seal and one's own life was obvious, wasn't it? However, even knowing this, Kayneth's displeasure couldn't be dispelled by even half a point.

Damn it, I could have finished off this little rat, but Caster's interference forced me to lose a Command Seal. I've noted this down.

So, before Lancer finishes off Caster (in Kayneth's view, the battlefield wasn't her workshop, and they were the Lancer knights who excelled in close combat, so Caster's defeat was a certainty), let me first deal with this guy who should have died by my hands long ago...

Huh? Where did he go?

Wouldn't it be a masterpiece if Kiritsugu suddenly appeared carrying a Stinger missile and shouted at Kayneth, "You are my precious family!"?

As the saying goes, a staff for a lifetime, a saber for a year, and a spear for a lifetime. Among all weapons, the easiest to learn is the staff. But this ease of learning also represents another characteristic—easy to learn, difficult to master. Thus, although guys with some martial arts background know a few staff moves, very few use the staff as their primary weapon.

No one wants to spend decades practicing diligently only to achieve mediocre results, right?

However, for Jizi, staff techniques were the most suitable martial arts skills—she didn't intend to master them anyway. Reaching a level where she could perform a few moves in a short time was enough. This was why she copied Sun Wukong's Golden Cudgel and paired it with the Shaolin Yin Hand Staff.

And now was the time for her rudimentary skills to be put to practical use for the first time, and the result far exceeded Jizi's expectations.

After all, what she initially intended was to stall Lancer and create an opportunity for Kiritsugu to escape a difficult situation. But the actual situation was that Lancer...

...was actually being suppressed by Jizi. He had taken several "head-on cudgel" hits, especially to his handsome face. Although with Jizi's tragic D-rank Strength, even hitting his face wouldn't cause significant damage, it was a huge blow to Lancer's morale.

Damn, as expected of Caster, her combat power increased several floors after taking out her "staff"—not! What kind of "staff" does a Magus use like that! She's charging in for close combat again! Master Gandoufu is actually a martial arts master, right? (Shua Ge, you've hit the nail on the head!) And the principles of this "staff technique" are so bizarre! The moves connect with so many "counter-attacks"! The movements don't follow normal logical thinking at all! Striking high and hitting low, feinting to the east and attacking to the west, shifting left and right—those are fine, but most importantly—even though I don't know if it's a "staff" or not, judging by its appearance, it's at least a staff, right? A staff should follow the routines of staff techniques! A staff sweeps a wide area, a spear pierces a line, but you're not sweeping or chopping, you're just poking and thrusting everywhere! Are you really Lancer yourself!

Hit in the face by another blow, Lancer also retreated a few steps, wiping the nosebleed from his face as he said, "I underestimated you just now. I didn't expect a mere Caster to have such attainments in martial arts. But why do your attacks always aim for the face..."

"This... I don't know what's going on either. Whenever I see that mole on Lancer's face, I feel a restless emotion stirring within me. To clear my mind..."

"Ah ha ha ha ha... Right, Caster, the fact that you're fighting me here instead of Saber, does that mean you two have reached some kind of agreement?" Hearing the other party mention his mole, Lancer could only laugh it off and change the subject... It's his own fault for digging his own grave.

Seeing that Lancer seemed inclined to start talking, Jizi showed no outward reaction, but inwardly, she was greatly relieved. While she appeared to have the upper hand moments ago, it was entirely due to the advantage in techniques. Lancer, who was skilled in practical techniques honed in battlefield combat like a knight, felt at a loss against the Shaolin Yin Hand Staff's 36 stances, which excelled in "yin" (i.e., overcoming the strong with the weak, or a balance of hard and soft). Moreover, Shaolin staff techniques were the origin of many spear techniques, so they naturally had a miraculous effect in countering spear attacks.

As the battle continued, Lancer began to understand Jizi's moves—after all, his martial arts foundation was streets ahead of Jizi's. Just like the last blow, Jizi had put all her strength into it (D+ burst). According to her estimate, Lancer shouldn't have been able to cause trouble again tonight after taking that hit, but when receiving the blow, Lancer used his skills to deflect most of the force. Although he was hit in the end, it only resulted in a nosebleed.

Moreover, Jizi's D-rank Endurance was also reaching its limit. If the fight continued, with her moves seen through and her stamina depleted, Jizi would surely be finished (in fact, if the opponent were an enemy using a different weapon instead of the spear user, Jizi would have been finished long ago—Jizi's Shaolin staff techniques were only particularly effective against spears. But then again, considering this situation, shouldn't she be called Lucky E?).

So, to buy herself some time to rest, Jizi began to prepare a long speech for Lancer. She hoped that Kiritsugu could successfully escape during this time, or even kill Kayneth. Otherwise, she would have to use a Command Seal to summon Saber.

"Lancer, there's nothing strange about us forming an alliance, is there? After all, there's already..."

Jizi didn't finish her sentence, but the spear user understood her intent and helped her continue, "With the combat power of that Archer, combined with Assassin's reconnaissance methods, there's truly no chance of victory when fighting alone."

"Yes, Lancer. Today's battle was completely unexpected. Why don't we call it a truce? At least until we deal with the Archer team, I don't want any more meaningless disputes. Besides, didn't you also have a duel scheduled with Saber?"

"Your proposal is indeed very tempting, but I'm afraid my Master does not share such thoughts."

"But..."

"Haven't you rested enough!"

Lancer's words made Jizi pause slightly, but she quickly accepted it: Lancer was a bit stubborn, but that didn't mean he was stupid. It wasn't strange that her little scheme had been seen through. However, if she couldn't use conversation to stall for time, things would become difficult—

"I was caught off guard at first, but now I've seen through your moves! Caster, if you don't show some ability befitting your Class, or if you have no more trump cards, then retire here!"

The two brushes swung again, but this time the offensive and defensive positions were completely reversed.

"Damn it, were those few attacks I took earlier, which didn't injure my bones, also to figure out my staff techniques? I thought I was controlling the situation, but it turns out I was the one being controlled!"

Just as Jizi was struggling to cope with Lancer's increasingly aggressive attacks and was about to collapse, Lancer suddenly stopped his stance and shouted in a terrified voice, "My Master!"

"Whoosh, I made it in time, Miss Maiya."

Let me give a rough assessment of Jizi's strength. As stated in the text, relying on the uniqueness of her skills, she could gain a slight advantage against other Servants. However, with the huge limiting conditions of "first time" and "short duration," if even one condition wasn't met, she was definitely—going to die—.

But anyway, she wouldn't have many opportunities to fight other Servants head-on later.

(Assassin's close-combat ability is slightly stronger than Caster's, but their overall strength is inferior.)