He opened with a powerful straight punch that tore through the air. Though Carl was clearly a Magus, she unleashed an attack that even a Servant would have to evade.
Of course... that was also because Assassin, as a class, did not possess outstanding Endurance. His durability attribute was already low, and he had no skills like Magic Resistance or Battle Continuation. If he took too heavy a blow, he might be forced out of the Holy Grail War immediately.
Had it been one of the Three Knights or Berserker, they would likely have used their prized armor of muscle to take the blow head-on, then crushed Carl with a single strike.
Unfortunately, if it had been one of the Three Knights or Berserker, they could never have approached Carl without her noticing. As one of the cautious Magi, she would never recklessly put herself in danger at the slightest hint of risk. Her earlier actions had already made that perfectly clear.
And yet...
She had still been discovered.
Carl furrowed her brow, unable to understand why Assassin had detected her trail. Certainly, Assassin possessed the finest concealment abilities, but investigation and hiding were two different matters... How had he learned of her whereabouts?
Could he have been following her ever since she got off the plane?
No, that was impossible.
If that had been the case, Assassin would have had far too many opportunities to strike. There was no reason for him to wait until now.
For example, when the two of them had put down their luggage in the hotel room, or when he could have poisoned them during a meal. Either method could have assassinated her for certain.
Unexpectedly, Carl was so calm that even she found it frightening.
For a Magus, the first step into the path of magecraft was to recognize death.
Then, to understand death.
Finally, to transcend death, disregard death, and become incomparably powerful.
Carl was an orthodox Magus. Naturally, she no longer feared life or death.
Only by overcoming fear could one summon the will to resist at the brink of life and death.
When her punch missed, Carl immediately lowered her center of gravity, stepped forward into a bow stance, and planted her right foot within Assassin's attack range—then her left leg shot upward!
Bolstered by Reinforcement Magecraft, Carl's body was like that of a hero from an animated show. Her knee thrust forward at high speed, driving her body into a fierce advance!
This was... martial arts.
It was Muay Thai, a killing-focused martial art passed down in an eastern nation called Thailand.
Many might think that a Magus ought to devote herself wholly to the path of magecraft, without distractions, and therefore should be someone with poor athletic ability.
Yet in truth, as early as fifty years ago, Magi had widely recognized how a powerful body could assist magecraft.
If pursuing the path of magecraft was compared to drinking water, then magical energy was the water, while the body was the cup itself. No matter how much water one had, it still needed a cup to hold it. The smaller the cup, the less water it could hold each time.
Thus, blindly pursuing the path of magecraft would indeed allow one to advance rapidly in magecraft, but one would be constrained by the body and unable to fully wield that power. Therefore, Magi often studied some form of combat technique as a secondary discipline: first, to compensate for their weakness in close combat, and second, to improve their physical condition so they could use stronger magecraft.
For instance, Japan's Tohsaka Family chose Baji Quan as a secondary discipline, while Finland's Edelfelt Family specialized in grappling techniques...
Carl, meanwhile, had trained in Muay Thai, which emphasized practicality and aggression and was renowned in the fighting world for producing results quickly. Unlike Baji Quan, which required years of training, Muay Thai could yield modest success after only a few months. For Carl, who urgently needed to revive her family, it was the most practical martial art.
Her body, repeatedly reinforced by magecraft, had become an overloaded berserk machine, radiating dangerous pressure from every inch. Transformed into a monster by the path of magecraft, Carl had gained the power to contend with a Heroic Spirit—though only barely.
Assassin felt that every punch and knee from this Magus carried immense force. Though he would not lose in a direct confrontation with her, his instincts as an Assassin drove him to avoid unnecessary risk.
The mission he had received was to kill these two Magi without fail.
There was no need, then, to obsess over close combat.
His body moved like a massive black panther, displaying the feline agility to its fullest. Taking advantage of the momentum from leaning back, he twisted backward at high speed. His long arms pressed against the ground, and with the support they provided, his body seemed to teleport thirty paces away in an instant!
Only when her retinas caught Assassin's figure again did Carl feel the stabbing pain in both shoulders! A burning sensation rapidly spread from her shoulders through her entire body, as if a scorching fishing net had been cast over her from outside. The searing pain spread vividly across her skin, warning her that her situation was dire.
It turned out that as Assassin planted his hands and flipped away, sharp blades had sprung from the soles of his feet and pierced through Carl's shoulders!
Her bones seemed to be broken.
As expected of B-rank Strength. Even while retreating from the fight, he could still launch an attack with such terrifying destructive power!
Carl made that assessment, her thoughts flashing like lightning. She immediately chanted a healing spell. As she sensed a soft, itchy feeling beneath her flesh, like insects crawling under her skin, her wounds began to recover. At the same time, Carl continued to focus on her enemy.
As expected of A-rank Agility! Carl had not even understood what had just happened!
"—I hereby proclaim! Thou shalt obey my command, and my fate shall be with thy sword! Answer the summons of the Holy Grail, if thou dost submit to this will and this reason!"
Tsukahara Meiji's trembling voice carried over.
Yet even though his voice overflowed with fear, his chant was incomparably precise.
For a foreigner who did not understand English, that was truly remarkable—Carl was German, so the summoning incantation she used naturally could not have been Japanese. Translating it into English had already been done specifically for Carl.
"!"
A troubled crease appeared between Assassin's brows.
His Master had repeatedly and sternly ordered him: "You must kill both of them before they summon a Heroic Spirit."
Ninjas were special assassins born to carry out their lord's missions. More important than their ability to infiltrate, assassinate, and complete tasks was loyalty. An unfaithful Ninja would never be employed, no matter how extraordinary his skills were.
Assassin felt his loyalty and righteousness being tarnished.
As a Servant in the Holy Grail War, he had to faithfully carry out his Master's orders.
With that thought, Assassin rapidly brought his hands together and apart, forming strange gestures.
Carl barely endured the pain in her shoulders. While casting healing magecraft on herself, she cautiously guarded against Assassin's attack.
If she had known more about Japan, understood the profession of Ninja, or perhaps read some of Tsukahara Meiji's manga during breaks from studying the path of magecraft, she would not have done this.
That was a special kind of "magecraft" widely known as "ninjutsu."
Such a thing had never existed in history. It was merely a hand sign Ninjas used for self-suggestion.
But this was not history.
This was the Holy Grail War.
Rather than what history said, humanity's widespread perception was the only standard.
If everyone believed that Ninjas used battle-axes, then they would use battle-axes, regardless of whether Ninjas themselves only knew how to use Ninja swords and chains.
In this era, when Japan's 2D culture had swept across the world, every middle-aged man and young boy thought of the obviously mythologized "ninjutsu" whenever Japanese Ninjas were mentioned.
As Assassin formed his hand seals, he spread his hands apart and shouted, "Ha!" A basketball-sized fireball rapidly condensed before him and shot toward Carl!
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