Arriving in Type-Moon, Currently Out of Contact

Then there was Gungnir to the face. If it weren't for the magic circle and seven layers of Moon Marrow Spirit Fluid to offset its power, and Lancer stepping in to block it, Lancer's group would have been wiped out today.

"Reporting to my Lord, in my humble opinion, the decisive battle is approaching. Someone is clearing out variables for the final showdown." Lancer's handsome face, covered in dust, showed clear anger. He'd just finished a day of hard labor and was about to rest when he was blindsided. Anyone would be furious.

Everyone knew the decisive battle was coming. After witnessing that intense banquet, even the least intelligent could tell that Archer, Rider, and Berserker were about to clash. With five parties involved and three already fighting, it was only a matter of time before the other two were drawn in. Everyone was prepared.

But why target them on the very first day? Did they think they were easy prey?!

However, anger was anger. Not letting emotions cloud judgment was a basic quality of an excellent warrior. "I suggest you retreat, my Lord. I will be responsible for your safety."

Though he hated to admit it, with Caster and Assassin out of the picture, he, Lancer, was the weakest. Lancer felt a bit dejected, thinking how much simpler things would be if he had his twin swords.

"No need." Kaineth snorted, and exquisite gems emerged from his coat, floating in the air and orbiting their master in a cycle, like planets and dwarf planets revolving around a star due to gravitational pull.

These were top-tier gems with long histories, passed down for hundreds, even nearly a thousand years. The price of each one could allow a family to live comfortably and happily until death in this era of economic bubble bursts.

In comparison, the Tohsaka family's collection could only be called slightly more precious than pretty pebbles.

"Gungnir." Kaineth's expression was complex. He slowly spoke the name of the divine spear that, once thrown, resembled a meteor. "The one who attacked was that rebellious disciple."

"In that case, you should leave." For the first time, Lancer showed panic, not out of fear of the approaching powerful enemy, but out of worry that he wouldn't be able to protect his Lord.

"I cannot flee when facing him, Lancer." Kaineth gazed at his Servant with his deep blue eyes. "This is a theoretical conflict between mages, and also a grievance between teacher and student."

Even though Kaineth had fought Sea Monsters alongside Li Zihan and shared drinks at the banquet, it didn't change the fact that their identities were inherently opposed. Lord El-Melloi versus the heir of the Heretical School, a traditional Grand Mage versus a top mage who had strayed from the path, a seeker of the pinnacle of magecraft versus a heretic who viewed the Root as trivial...

The mages of the Clock Tower had always wondered why Lord El-Melloi had repeatedly sheltered that student who could almost be called a heretic. They should have been natural enemies.

Their assumptions were completely wrong. The aristocratic Lord El-Melloi of the Clock Tower wasn't a blood supremacist but a talent supremacist. It was just that Kaineth's noble background gave the impression of pursuing bloodline supremacy. He instinctively sheltered Waver and Li Zihan because they were his kind.

"I taught him magecraft in the classroom, but I failed to teach him the pride and pursuit of a mage. This is my fault. I have a responsibility to rectify this." Kaineth snapped his fingers, and silvery metal transformed into steel cables. In less than a second, mercury formed a beautiful web centered on him. "It's time for all of this to come to an end."

"Since you're here, come out!" Kaineth called out loudly. "Let's settle who is right and who is wrong with a duel of magecraft!"

"While I'd love to just spam Gungnir, if it's my teacher's request, then I'll fight." The slender youth retracted the spear in his hand. Then, countless butterflies fluttered low to the ground, his figure becoming ethereal. "I apologize for not bringing Moon Marrow Spirit Fluid or gems, so I can't compete with the same magecraft. Please bear with me."

The battle between mages began.

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ps: How should I put it? I couldn't capture the feeling I wanted in this chapter.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Victory and Defeat

Blue butterflies danced, like little sprites falling from heaven to earth, impossibly beautiful.

If an artist were present, they would likely be lost in it, for it was all too beautiful.

But to the mages, these seemingly exquisite sprites were practically the most terrifying demons. They continuously absorbed the great ambient magic power in the air while stealing the target's life force. If they were touched by them without defense, one would probably turn into a dried husk in an instant. The scales that fell with every flap of their wings weren't mere decorative rehearsal props, but a slow-acting poison that eroded living beings bit by bit.

Truly dangerous magecraft. Even the well-traveled Kaineth had to admit the incredible excellence of this magecraft, its depth possibly not inferior to Archibolt's ancestral magecraft.

There were many families that used butterflies as familiars, but only a few were truly skilled. As someone from the top noble circles, Kaineth could easily recognize the magecraft of those families.

However, the magecraft before him clearly lacked the characteristics of those families, meaning this was very likely the inheritance of a once-prominent, now fallen noble house.

"I didn't expect that rumor to be true." Kaineth snapped his fingers, and a blue sapphire floated above his head, emitting a brilliant blue light. The next moment, a semi-transparent blue membrane enveloped Kaineth, isolating him from the outside. "Three hundred years ago, the head of the Zolgen family suddenly disappeared. There were rumors that he went east with the Winter Saintess, then changed course for the island nation with its scarce magical resources."

"This matter has always been dismissed as nonsense," Kaineth mused. "It seems they merely withdrew from public view and diluted their influence."