Type-Moon: Card Servants Chapter 46

"..."

The Assassin wearing a skull mask materialized. He looked at Kayneth, seemingly surprised that the man had detected him.

But detecting him was useless. After all... fighting a Servant was simply courting death!

"Hmm?!"

Kayneth suddenly frowned and whipped his head around. The Moon Cell Liquid beside him seemed to have detected the threat as well, wrapping around Kayneth and Waver as though intending to protect them.

"Squelch!!"

A sharp dagger pierced through the Moon Cell Liquid's defenses and stabbed straight into Kayneth's heart.

"Urgh!!" Kayneth's pupils contracted. He clearly had not expected that, even after fully activating the Moon Cell Liquid's defensive mechanisms, his defenses would be breached so easily?!

"This dagger has been imbued with anti-magecraft power. And besides... I'm a relatively 'complete' individual. Naturally, I'm different from that 'individual' split off over there. I'm much stronger!"

Outside the Moon Cell Liquid's defenses, Hassan of the Hundred Faces revealed a mocking smile. As Hassans, Magi were naturally among the targets they had considered assassinating!

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That Person!

"Tch! It's just a minor wound."

Though his heart had been pierced, Kayneth had not died. Instead, he revealed a mocking smile and sneered at the Assassin outside through the Moon Cell Liquid's defenses. "It seems your assassination skills are still lacking. You actually didn't cut off my head!"

The moment he finished speaking, the Moon Cell Liquid lashed out with a thick whip toward the Assassin.

"Cut off your head? There's no need." Dodging the Moon Cell Liquid's whip, Hassan of the Hundred Faces snorted coldly. She naturally understood the mockery in his words.

Seemingly extremely confident in her attack, Hassan of the Hundred Faces did not continue attacking Kayneth. Instead, she planned to kill Waver!

"Clang—!!"

This time, however, the anti-magecraft dagger failed. It stabbed into the Moon Cell Liquid wall but did not pierce all the way through. Instead, it was "caught."

"The same attack won't work a second time." Kayneth used healing magecraft on his heart. Although it only temporarily closed the wound, there was no time for him to focus on properly treating it.

After all... if he focused on treating his own wound, his foolish student would be slaughtered by the Assassin.

"I see. This Magic Crest has the ability to learn on its own?" Hassan of the Hundred Faces retreated several steps, clearly surprised. Though Kayneth himself did not seem like much, the Magic Crest he had created actually possessed the ability to "learn on its own."

The anti-magecraft dagger had broken through the Moon Cell Liquid's defenses just moments ago, yet only seconds later, the same attack had already been countered. That learning capability was exceptionally formidable.

How could the Moon Cell Liquid, a Magic Crest even Kayneth found incredibly useful, be described with merely the word "convenient"?

"We're leaving! Hold on tight." Having temporarily recovered from his injuries, Kayneth knew that the Moon Cell Liquid could not withstand repeated attacks from the Assassin. The enemy appeared to have split into many "individuals," and that division had likely dispersed their strength as well.

Otherwise, they could have simply smashed the Moon Cell Liquid apart by force!

Even though Heroic Spirits had been demoted into Servants, they were still renowned figures from history. Killing a theory-oriented Magus was still extremely easy for them.

Put simply, Kayneth knew he was not particularly skilled in combat. He was not one of those battle-oriented Magi, and he truly was not good at fighting.

Although the wisest decision now would be to call the King of Conquerors back and have him kill these relatively weak Assassins, Kayneth knew their whereabouts had been exposed. If he forcibly summoned the King of Conquerors back, Saber and Gilgamesh, those two terrifying figures, would likely be drawn here as well.

"Eh?! Teacher!" Waver had already prepared to use a Command Seal to summon the King of Conquerors back, but Kayneth told him to hold tightly onto the Moon Cell Liquid. Could it be that he had a way to escape?

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Kayneth roared at Waver, then threw something resembling a black lump at his feet.

The Moon Cell Liquid seemed to receive its orders as well. It immediately canceled its defensive form, shrank into a sphere, and leaped high into the air.

The instant it jumped, the black lump exploded with a boom, and black smoke blanketed an area several hundred meters wide.

It was a little gadget Kayneth had made. It looked like a smoke bomb, but the instant it exploded, it unleashed an extremely powerful shockwave!

Kayneth had placed the black lump beneath the Moon Cell Liquid precisely because he wanted to use the blast's shockwave to escape this dangerous place.

That shockwave sent the Moon Cell Liquid protecting Kayneth and Waver flying into the sky at incredible speed, like Kars being launched into space! Before long, it vanished from sight.

"...Swish!"

Several throwing knives flew toward the Moon Cell Liquid, but it was simply too fast. Even though they had predicted its trajectory, every blade missed.

"So it failed."

After the smoke dispersed, four Hassans of the Hundred Faces appeared there. They clearly had not expected Kayneth to think of such a method. He truly was a Master held in high regard.

"Should we continue the pursuit?"

As if suffering from dissociative identity disorder, a rather burly Hassan looked toward the female Hassan who had held the dagger earlier and asked calmly, "If we wish to continue pursuing them, we will likely have to spend some effort."

"There's no need to pursue them." The female Hassan sheathed her dagger and said calmly, "I coated the blade with poison. I had already considered that he might use healing magecraft to temporarily recover from his wounds."

"As expected of us—such flawless foresight. This way, tonight's efforts have yielded something." Another small, thin Hassan nodded, feeling that "he" had done quite well.

"With one Master dead, and Lancer already slain by Saber, three Servants have now left this Holy Grail War. Only Saber, Archer, and Rider remain—three exceptionally powerful beings. If the plan proceeds smoothly, the Holy Grail may very well end up belonging to us."

Hassan of the Hundred Faces sneered. Though they had always assisted Tohno Shiro with gathering intelligence and such, they had their own plans as well.

Around noon that day, Kotomine Kirei, having come to a complete realization, officially withdrew from the Holy Grail War. He requested permission from his father to return to the Holy Church and bring back his daughter.

He handed over Assassin's Command Seals and control to Tohno Shiro, asking his teacher to strive for victory in the Holy Grail War.

At that moment, however, Tohno Shiro's attention was entirely focused on Gilgamesh. Freed from their "restraints," this group of assassins had now begun causing trouble openly.

Kotomine Kirei had been watching them the entire time, so the Assassins had not dared to make any moves, afraid that if their Master discovered their disloyalty, he would immediately use a Command Seal to order them to die.

But now, Hassan of the Hundred Faces had no more reservations. They could finally cause trouble without restraint.

"We know Archer and Rider, but Saber... who exactly is she? Why does she carry that person's aura?" Now that Hassan knew Kayneth's death was inevitable, they began discussing it as well.

At present, their only enemies were those three Servants. They had already gathered intelligence on Archer and Rider, but Saber remained a complete mystery.

Yet not everything about her was a mystery. At the very least... Hassan of the Hundred Faces could sense that Saber carried "that person's" aura. There was absolutely no mistake about it!

If she truly knew that person, then Hassan of the Hundred Faces felt there was no need to fight at all. They should simply withdraw immediately. None of them wanted to catch the attention of that legendary "person."

Teacher!

Boom—!!

The Moon Cell Essence surrounding Waver and Kayneth crashed heavily into the ground.

"Urgh."

The impact made Waver cough up blood. He could not understand why his teacher had not used the Moon Cell Essence as he had before, cushioning their landing like a basketball.

But when his gaze shifted to Kayneth, his pupils contracted, and his body began trembling uncontrollably.

"Cough, cough, cough! That sneaky bastard actually coated his sword with poison." In Waver's eyes, Kayneth's face had turned a sickly blue-green. One hand was pressed against his chest, apparently casting some kind of magecraft. Then he spat out a mouthful of blood—not red blood, but green blood!!

There was no doubt that Kayneth had been poisoned. And judging by his condition... the poison was incredibly vicious. In less than a minute, he had already been reduced to this state!

"This..."

Waver seemed about to step forward and use his crude detoxification magecraft on his teacher.

"Don't come closer." Kayneth snapped at Waver, "You half-baked Magus, in this situation, the farther you stay from me, the better. Most poisons developed in ancient times kill in a single blow, but they can also harm those nearby through the poisoned person's breath or the blood they cough up."

As he spoke, Kayneth spat out another huge mouthful of blood. He was nearly unable to hold on anymore—or rather... the fact that he had lasted this long was already impressive. Most of his Magic Crests had been prepared to counter curses, illusions, and specific hexes.

He had considered the possibility of poisoning, but no matter how he thought about it, Kayneth could not believe those people would be stupid enough to think they could poison him while he was protected by such a powerful Magic Workshop!

If he had been inside the Magic Workshop, then even if he discovered he had been poisoned, Kayneth would have had ways to temporarily preserve his life. Given enough time, he could have used his genius mind to develop an antidote.

But now... it was too late. Though Kayneth continuously cast detoxification magecraft on himself, he could feel his life slowly approaching its end. He did not want to die... but he was beyond saving.

"How... how could this..." Waver was clearly at a loss as he watched the scene before him, but he quickly composed himself.

Without caring whether their location would be exposed again, he immediately used a Command Seal to summon the King of Conquerors back.

"Yo, Little Master. You called me back... a little slowly."

The King of Conquerors, who had just been summoned back, had several Noble Phantasms embedded in his body. He was in terrible condition, as though he might vanish at any moment. With a bitter smile, he said, "Had you been a few seconds later, that terrifying King of Heroes might have killed me."

They had fought for only a few minutes before the King of Conquerors' Inherent Domain was torn apart by the other's Noble Phantasm. Without question, it was the legendary Anti-World Noble Phantasm—the nemesis of an Inherent Domain!

In truth, if Waver had been even slightly slower, the King of Conquerors might not have returned.

"Forget that for now! Hurry up and think of a way to save my teacher!!" Waver grabbed the badly injured King of Conquerors, urging him to find a way to save Kayneth.

Kayneth's face had become twisted with pain. He could no longer hold on, but after hearing Waver's words, he spat out a mouthful of green blood and furiously berated him, "The King of Conquerors is not a doctor, and he is badly injured right now. As his Master, you should be thinking of how to heal his wounds."

With that, Kayneth threw every useful Magic Crest on his person to Waver. In immense pain, he said, "Remember this, Waver Velvet. You have surely witnessed the cruelty and terror of this Holy Grail War. If you do not want to die, then get as far away as possible! Do not let the matter of 'magic'..."

Before he could finish, Kayneth coughed up blood again. This time, the blood was green mixed with red. A flicker of surprise passed through the King of Conquerors' eyes. He could naturally see that Kayneth had been afflicted by a deadly poison and did not have long to live.

Yet he seemed to have used some kind of magecraft to keep himself alive for the moment.

Even at a time like this, he still refused to die. Clearly, he clung to a powerful obsession. He would rather endure unimaginable pain and linger on than die so quickly.

"Don't talk. Listen carefully. These are the final words of a dying man." Through Kayneth's eyes, the King of Conquerors understood that he wanted to tell Waver something before his death.

"After I die, you cannot return to the Clock Tower immediately. My death will involve many matters. If you return safely, then what awaits you... will be unimaginable questioning."

After the King of Conquerors held Waver back, Kayneth continued, "I never revealed anything about 'magic' within the Holy Grail War. But since I investigated the Holy Grail War so thoroughly and still died here, the people of other families are not fools either. They will surely continue investigating along my line of thought. Without my protection, the Clock Tower is nothing but a bottomless abyss to you."

"Urgh!"

Kayneth dropped to his knees. With a twisted expression, he stared at Waver and shouted, "After I die, if you return safely to the Clock Tower and no one questions you, then tell the next lord of the El-Melloi Faction or head of the Archibald family that they may only investigate the Holy Grail War. They must never participate in it!"

"Teacher!!!" Waver's feelings were incredibly complicated. Just a few days ago, he had hated this man so deeply, believing that Kayneth had trampled on everything he had!

But now, he could feel sorrow and helplessness filling his heart. There was nothing he could do... just like back in that classroom, where he had been unable to do anything.

All he could do now was watch silently as his teacher, this Clock Tower Lord, walked toward death...

"Stop talking nonsense! Remember this, Waver Velvet! I will not allow you to die, and you cannot die!" Kayneth gritted his teeth. He could no longer endure it, but there was still one final sentence—one final sentence he wanted to say.

"Tell Sola that I loved her all my life. I loved her as I loved magecraft, but as the head of the family! As a Lord, I had to investigate the traces of 'magic' in this Holy Grail War. I have wronged her."

"And you, Waver Velvet, you who are not even as good as a third-rate Magus, I did not die to protect you—"

At that point, Kayneth's voice suddenly vanished, as if a tape had jammed. He simply remained kneeling there.

"Tea—cher—!!!"

You Will All Die

He was dead. The teacher who had once reprimanded him so harshly was dead. He sat there without any sign of life, with only a faint aura of death lingering around him.

"His final words were probably meant to keep you from dwelling too much on why he died." The King of Conquerors patted his Little Master. The weapons embedded in his body had now disappeared.

"Teacher... died protecting me."

Waver's voice trembled. It had only been five minutes since it happened, so he remembered clearly: Assassin's initial target had been him, not his teacher. His teacher had only caught Assassin's attention because he had tried to protect him.

"Why... why... He clearly said he would never protect me. I'm obviously such a terrible student. I stole his Holy Relic, and I even resented him in my heart." Tears fell from Waver's eyes as he stared at Kayneth's corpse, his heart filled with grief and remorse.

Outside the hotel.

"The Second Magic and the Third Magic are very likely to appear in this Holy Grail War. The Einzbern family probably came here to bring the Third Magic back into the world. As for the Second Magic... that person came as a witness during the first Holy Grail War, hoping to witness its success."

"These waters run deep. Even I can't be sure I'll make it out alive. Waver Velvet, if you're not an idiot, you should hand over your Command Seals right now and crawl back to the Clock Tower."

"Now you know fear? If you do, hand over your Command Seals immediately and get back to the Clock Tower. Someone like you has no business involving yourself in this kind of magecraft war."

"Since you're not afraid of dying, then come in."

"From here on, don't expect me to protect you. If you die, I'll abandon you without hesitation."

As caustic and cutting as ever. When he had heard those words back then, Waver had been filled with anger, wanting to prove to his teacher that he could do anything!

But?! But?! The teacher he had always resented had protected him at the critical moment, using his wisdom to send him somewhere safe. Meanwhile, he himself had been poisoned beyond saving.

"Why wasn't it me?" Waver said in despair. At that moment, he truly realized that he was worthless—a complete and utter failure! A useless coward who could do nothing but shout.

He had accomplished nothing. No matter what happened, all he could do was watch... He could only watch events unfold, powerless to stop them.

"How pathetic!" The King of Conquerors looked at Waver's despairing expression and suddenly roared. With a single slap, he knocked Waver to the ground. This time, he seemed to have put real force into it, snapping Waver out of his inner "despair."

"What is with that look on your face? What are those tears for?!"

The King of Conquerors stared at Waver with a grave expression and shouted, "Can your tears bring your teacher back?!"

"Then what am I supposed to do?! What else can I do?! I'm a complete and utter failure! I got my teacher killed, and I dragged you down too!!" Waver seemed no longer afraid of the King of Conquerors as he shouted back, "I understand now. My pathetic pride should never have existed in the first place!! I never should have come to this so-called Holy Grail War."

"If you were truly that useless, would your teacher have said so much to you?! Would he have entrusted his 'hope' to you?!" The King of Conquerors fixed Waver with a stern gaze. "Even now, don't you understand?! Your teacher believed that you could walk out of the Holy Grail War alive and deliver the news of this place to the others."