Magic surged, air currents churned, and white light flashed.
Saber underwent this transformation, striking a pose like a magical girl changing outfits. Her clothes turned directly into a blue-and-white armored dress.
In her right hand, she held an Invisible Blade. It was impossible to make out what it looked like, since it was surrounded by air currents that formed an optical camouflage effect resembling a distortion in space.
The scene made people want to poke fun at how much it looked like a transformation from Balala the Fairies, but there was no doubt that it was a genuine display of supernatural power. Countless people were thrilled.
Seeing this, Lancer smiled. "What a valiant figure, Saber. Unfortunately, bound by the rules of the Holy Grail War and my Master's orders, I can't reveal my true name at a time like this. It's a real shame."
Saber said coldly, "Concealing one's identity is only right. Deception is the very nature of war. Even if few of us are taking part in this Holy Grail War, it is still a war."
Lancer said, "Deception is the very nature of war... That's a modern way of thinking, isn't it?"
Saber said, "Indeed. The knowledge of the modern world that the Holy Grail instilled in me has been a great benefit, and I agree with it completely. Since this is war, we naturally have to do our best to conceal ourselves. Otherwise, if our true identities are exposed, the enemy can easily target us with specific tactics. That would hardly be a good thing."
At that, Lancer smiled and brandished the twin spears in his hands. They whistled fiercely through the air, cutting an imposing figure. "Then let's begin! Saber!"
Saber said, "Just what I was thinking!"
The two faced off, their auras building. The battle was about to begin.
In the real world, people had gleaned some information about the Holy Grail War from their conversation. For example, Servants were better off hiding their true names, since knowing their real identities could allow an enemy to target them specifically.
They now knew that Servants were the avatars of Heroic Spirits, and that Heroic Spirits were famous heroes from human history. Did that mean the calamities those heroes had faced in life—even the causes of their deaths—could apply in the Holy Grail War as well?
The concept of a special weakness was nothing unusual. The Holy Grail War seemed a lot like a game, and games had rules. In a game, even a powerful character could be taken out by a small weakness.
It might seem strange in the real world, but it wasn't impossible.
At the very least, the think tanks hired by various countries had already analyzed the possibility and recorded it, preparing for any Servants who might appear in the future. Yes, countries had already proposed plans to summon Heroic Spirits by following the example in the Light Screen's footage. It was far-fetched and unscientific, but, as had been said countless times, this world had stopped being scientific the moment Mystery descended.
In that case, summoning Heroic Spirits to fight by learning from the methods shown in the Light Screen's footage wasn't such an outlandish idea.
After all, you had to be willing to try anything. What if it worked?
Even if it failed, all they would lose was some resources and time. And the national governments—especially the five major powers of this world, the Flame Kingdom, Ursus, Holy Britain, the Napoleonic Empire, and the New Roman Alliance—had abundant resources and formidable national strength. They could certainly afford to try these unscientific things.
In fact, the voice-over had already been recorded and was now undergoing rigorous analysis. They were preparing to identify its owner by tracing the voice.
Of course, that was doomed to fail, because the voice-over was actually Su Yun's voice, and he had used the system to synthesize it. Although it bore some resemblance to his own voice, it was also quite different.
There were countless voices like that around the world. Trying to find him by his voice was pure fantasy.
As for why he had added a voice-over, it was because acting out many of the events in the footage would use up a great deal of Fantasy Power. Narration, on the other hand, was the most economical way to help people understand what was happening.
As always, Su Yun hadn't done this for fun. He was gathering Fantasy Power.
That being the case, he naturally had to achieve his goal as efficiently as possible. Altering the original story was for the same purpose.
In fact, for humanity, footage showing supernatural powers alone yielded far less Fantasy Power than content with a story. For the same amount of Fantasy Power spent, the former yielded less than a tenth of what the latter did.
Perhaps a mere display of power was too dry. It could certainly shock people, but it didn't leave a deep impression. That was why stories brought in much greater returns.
Otherwise, Su Yun could simply have made a pile of footage devoted to showing off supernatural powers. Why would he need to make an altered version of the Holy Grail War?
If you could earn money by lying flat, who would want to work hard?
Of course, Su Yun didn't deny that he also had a bit of a troublemaker in him. He was merely going with the flow, rather than deliberately stirring things up.
In the Light Screen's footage, Saber and Lancer began to fight.
In the space of a single breath, spear points and sword shadows flashed between them, followed by the ringing clash of metal. The ground beneath their feet shattered or was cleaved apart, and the once-smooth concrete was instantly left pitted and uneven.
It had been less than five seconds, and everyone watching was stunned.
They could barely see what was happening. With only a few flashes of movement, the two had already changed their actions more than twenty times. Only when they collided did their bodies pause briefly, sending shock waves surging out. The action was so dazzling that the eye couldn't keep up.
At that moment, countless mouths hung open. It was all too fast, and too breathtaking. The showers of sparks that burst from their clashes, along with the flashes of light as their weapons struck, assaulted people's eyes like light pollution.
What made it even more overwhelming was that the entire scene had been acted out by real people. The absence of any trace of editing or special effects battered everyone's hearts.
Each ringing clang of metal was like a bomb, destroying people's understanding of the world and constantly reshaping their idea of what true supernatural power could be.
Not supernatural power from films, dramas, anime, or other works of art, but supernatural power that truly existed in reality and was being displayed in all its might before all of humanity.
True supernatural power!
In that moment, humanity's yearning for strength and the supernatural was ignited.
And so, immense amounts of Fantasy Power poured forth, filling Su Yun with delight as he watched the total continue to rise.
However, this outpouring of Fantasy Power couldn't last. If the fight stayed intense for too long, people would soon grow tired of it.
So the story needed a reversal next. Only then could people produce even more Fantasy Power.
In fact, the scene in the Light Screen had already changed without warning.
It shifted to a shadowy spot on the other side of the harbor.
There, viewers around the world saw Emiya Kiritsugu and Hisau Maiya. Unlike the first time they had appeared, both were dressed in black.
Hisau Maiya wore black night clothes suited for moving freely, while Emiya Kiritsugu wore a black trench coat.
The one thing they had in common was that each carried a sniper rifle.
The clash between this scene and the Holy Grail War's overall style left viewers around the world stunned.
Before you continue