As Medea's voice fell, a flash of golden light appeared, and a handsome man carrying two spears came into view.
It was none other than the Lancer from the battle in the warehouse district!
"Oh? You recognized me. Looks like you were the rats I drove off the battlefield earlier."
Lancer raised one handsome eyebrow as he spoke.
"Lancer, what are you standing around chatting for? I still have a score to settle with you over what happened with Saber. Hurry up and cut off Caster's head!"
The voice came from behind Lancer, scolding him as if he were a pet dog, with no regard whatsoever for his dignity.
"As you command, my lord."
But Lancer seemed used to Lemon Head's scolding and replied respectfully.
"Heh—"
Seeing that the Lancer team didn't take her seriously, Medea sneered. "You couldn't even finish off a half-crippled Saber. Looks like you weren't trying very hard when you fought him, Lancer."
"Silence, Witch! Don't try to drive a wedge between me and my lord!"
Lancer, whose expression had been calm until then, changed color at Medea's taunt and shouted angrily.
Looks like there's a story there—
But Medea had no time to pour Lancer a drink.
"There are two things I can't stand," Medea said, her soft lips parting as her clear voice reached everyone's ears.
"First, handsome men—"
Medea's purple robe began to flutter, though there was no wind.
"Second, anyone who calls me a 'Witch'—"
The magical energy filling the air gathered into a thick fog and enveloped Caster.
"Anyone who violates both of my taboos will be punished accordingly."
Magic circles—
Layer upon layer of magic circles, radiating terrifying magical energy, appeared behind Medea.
"Anyone who violates both of my taboos will be punished accordingly."
As Medea's voice fell, her body began to float into the air. The magic circles behind her sprang open, and dozens of circles of varying sizes obscured most of Lancer's view.
Even Lancer had to brace himself as he felt the magical energy spilling from the circles.
Whoosh—
Magic bullets came hurtling down from the sky, aiming to pierce Lancer's body.
The bullets were extremely fast, but they were no match for Lancer, whose Agility was A+. He nimbly dodged their attacks, but the bullets' impact on the ground far exceeded his expectations!
The ground, struck by the magic bullets, had been scorched into red-hot, charred earth.
Even with his B-rank Magic Resistance, taking a direct hit from magecraft of that power would hurt. Lancer's expression grew solemn. He looked up at Caster and tightened his grip on his twin spears.
"Caster, I admit I underestimated you."
"Is that so? I think even less of you, Lancer. I thought you might still be of some use, so I tested you a little. You've disappointed me terribly." Medea fired back without missing a beat.
"Goodness, that stings. If there's a next time, I'll put on a better show." Lancer teased, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth—the excited smile of a warrior facing battle.
"—As if. Fools don't get a next time. Just disappear here, Lancer!"
Medea wasn't falling for that. In her eyes, not one good-looking man could be trusted; not a word they said was worth believing!
What's more, this man had damaged the toy she'd just taken a liking to!
Unforgivable!
"Tch—"
For the first time, Lancer felt that women were impossible to reason with. But to avoid getting hit by the next volley of magic bullets, he began moving at high speed, trying to get out of Medea's line of sight.
"Hmph. You think you can get away?"
With a cold snort, the staff given to Medea by the goddess Hecate lit up in her hand.
Then—
Medea's attack became an endless downpour.
Magic bullets poured down. How was that any different from carpet-bombing the ground?
She kept firing, raining down magecraft whose every strike carried the power to kill.
The grand spectacle left Lancer's Master speechless.
As a Mage, he could naturally understand just how absurd this "magecraft" was.
It was already in the realm of "Greater Magecraft."
To perform magecraft like this required a simple magic circle and a Tencount—a spell chanted in at least ten words.
Greater Magecraft had such tremendous power precisely because it required an incantation.
Even a seasoned Mage would need a minute to cast something like that.
Even a Mage using rapid incantation would probably need around thirty seconds.
But she did it in an instant.
She didn't need to chant at all. All she had to do was move her staff, and she could keep casting one spell after another. Lemon Head could no longer imagine anyone who could compare with her—
Not even he, the "genius" hailed as such from birth.
Lancer had no time to care about his Master's self-pity. His A+ Agility let him keep moving through the bombardment. He was struggling, but not yet in a sorry state.
"Caster, it seems your magical energy is running low!"
As he dodged the magecraft, Lancer kept searching for a chance to win. He keenly noticed that Medea's rate of fire had slowed slightly.
"..."
Medea pressed her lips together and didn't answer Lancer, but the pace of her spellcasting continued to slow.
"Caster, don't tell me you're planning to run away?"
At that, Lancer's meaningful words made Medea's heart sink.
He'd figured it out—
She had little magical energy left, yet she was still wasting it on this bombardment. Medea had her own reasons.
She had planned to use the bombardment to drive Lancer away, then use spatial transfer magecraft to escape the battlefield with Wang Xiaoming.
But Lancer had seen through her plan.
"Heh—"
Since he'd already figured it out, there was no point continuing. Medea stopped casting and glanced down at Wang Xiaoming out of the corner of her eye.
Lancer naturally noticed her small movement. Taking advantage of the pause in her magecraft, he pointed his spear at Medea and said with a confident flourish:
"As a knight, I won't take advantage of someone when they're vulnerable. You have nothing to fear."
But the loyal knight had no idea what Medea was thinking.
In Medea's eyes, Wang Xiaoming was a strategic resource. His memories could be of great help in winning the Holy Grail War, but as far as Medea herself was concerned, he wasn't irreplaceable.
As long as she didn't let him fall into another Master's hands—
A murderous glint flashed in Medea's eyes.
Still, that was a last resort. Given the current situation, things hadn't deteriorated that far.
So all Medea had to do now was find an opportunity...
"Lancer, what are you doing? Why aren't you just killing Caster's Master?"
A stern voice suddenly came from behind, questioning Lancer. Aside from the two people on the battlefield, only Lancer's Master could have spoken!
Lancer's expression froze. Then he turned toward the voice and answered solemnly.
"My lord, I swear on my honor that I will present Caster's head to you. But please allow me to bring this battle to a proper conclusion!"
"I'm starting to think Caster was right earlier. Did you really give it your all against Saber?"
"My lord!" Lancer's face changed as he heard his Master's accusation. He was about to explain, but his Master cut him off in a voice as cold as ice:
"Enough—
Don't make me use my second Command Spell."
Setting Lancer's team aside for now.
When Lancer's Master gave him orders, he used magecraft to conceal his position. But a little spell like that couldn't possibly interfere with Medea.
While Lancer was defending himself, Medea swiftly laid out a detection spell—
"Found you!"
Medea's eyes lit up, and the magic circles behind her, still open, began to turn once more.
"Caster! What are you doing?!"
The instant he noticed Medea's movement, Lancer charged at her with his spear.
"Don't do anything rash, Lancer~"
Medea's voice rang out the instant Lancer took off.
"Otherwise, I can't guarantee your Master's sa-fe-ty~"
"..."
Lancer looked up at the magic circles in the air, radiating terrifying magical energy. They had turned ninety degrees, and the direction they faced meant—
Caster had locked on to his Master's position!
"No one can escape unharmed once I've locked on to them~ Of course, you can try running away~ But you might end up getting picked off by another Master afterward~"
Medea's voice rang out at just the right moment, her tone much more relaxed than before.
Because she had already—
Checkmated him—
"..."
Medea's teasing drew no response. Lancer's Master, who had been so noisy just moments ago, had fallen into an eerie silence.
"Caster, how dare you resort to such dishonorable tactics!"
Lancer suppressed his anger and challenged Medea.
"Since you call me a Witch, wouldn't it be a shame not to do something a Witch would do?"
Medea pursed her lips disdainfully at Lancer's accusation.
"I'll kill you!"
Lancer gritted his teeth.
"Go ahead and try~ Let's see whether you can thrust your spear faster, or my magecraft can blow you away first!"
"Tch!"
Lancer helplessly lowered his spear. Remembering Caster's near-instant spellcasting, the loyal knight didn't dare to gamble—and wouldn't. All that remained in his heart was boundless regret for putting his lord in danger.
"Heh—hahahaha!"
Just then, mad laughter suddenly rang out from deep in the woods. It was Lancer's Master!
The laugh was so wildly out of place that it dispelled the tension in the air.
Medea began to wonder if the man had lost his mind. Even Lancer glanced worriedly over his shoulder.
"My lord?"
"I'm fine, Lancer!"
Before you continue