Chapter 23

Rider cautiously surveyed his surroundings. The grotesque creatures summoned by Caster writhed with unnatural movements, their bodies covered in tentacles and mouths filled with sharp teeth. The dense underbrush of the forest shuddered with their motions, while beyond them, standing amidst his abominations, Caster clutched his grimoire with both hands, his eyes wide with madness.

"Tell me where you've hidden my Holy Maiden" he demanded in a guttural voice. "If you tell me quickly, your death will be painless."

Rider scoffed disdainfully. He knew he was at a disadvantage. Without the ability to manifest another Noble Phantasm while using Kibisis, and without a weapon to attack, he could only dodge. And that's what he did. With quick and precise movements, he avoided the snapping jaws of the creatures, slipping between them with agility. However, little by little, the space around him shrank. He was losing ground.

He couldn't continue like this. He had to turn the tide of the battle.

Without hesitation, he opened the sack once more. From within, Saber emerged, confused for a moment but quickly grasping the situation. Her expression hardened as soon as she saw the chaos surrounding her.

She fixed her gaze on Rider, her anger barely contained. "Again..." she muttered through clenched teeth, clearly furious at having been sealed away.

But there was no time for recriminations. The grotesque creatures turned their attention toward her, and with a firm step, Saber raised her invisible sword, ready for battle.

Meanwhile, Caster's laughter echoed through the forest.

"Ohhh, my Holy Maiden…" he said with a tone of adoration. His eyes gleamed with sickly joy. "You've finally returned to me!"

Saber felt a wave of revulsion wash over her. She immediately recognized her aggressor. The night before, after her battle at the docks, Caster had intercepted her on her way back to the Einzbern castle, calling her by that absurd title.

"I told you!" Saber roared, her patience worn thin. "Don't call me that!"

Caster ignored her warning, completely consumed by his deranged obsession.

"You are my holy maiden, the pure woman the gods have returned to me… and I will protect you from anyone who dares to taint your divinity" he said, his gaze darkening as it settled on Rider.

The Greek warrior let out a laugh. "Oh, please! If anyone here is a threat to her, it's you" he replied with a mocking grin.

Caster gritted his teeth and raised his grimoire, summoning more creatures. The undergrowth cracked as aberrations emerged from the ground with inhuman shrieks. Rider knew it was time to act.

"It's time" he murmured. With a single motion, he stored Kibisis and channeled his Master's mana. In the blink of an eye, Harpe—the curved and deadly scythe-like blade—appeared in his right hand.

Seizing the momentum, he vanished from Caster's sight. In less than a second, he reappeared behind him, Harpe raised in a lethal trajectory.

Blood flew through the air. With a clean slash, Caster's head rolled across the ground, his wide eyes frozen in shock, his mouth still muttering incoherently.

Rider didn't stop there. With a swift motion, he severed the fallen sorcerer's arms as well.

He had sensed the immense magical power within the grimoire and didn't want to take any unnecessary risks.

Caster's lifeless body collapsed, and with his death, the grotesque creatures began to fade away.

Silence returned to the forest.

Rider exhaled wearily and turned to Saber, who watched him with a stoic expression, though her sword remained at the ready.

"And now what?" she asked coldly.

Rider smiled, slightly raising the sack he had stored away.

"I could seal you again" he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Saber clenched her teeth and took a more aggressive stance.

"I won't fall for the same trick twice" she declared with determination.

Rider was about to continue his joke of sealing Saber in Kibisis again when his Master's voice broke into his mind through their magical link.

"Rider... I'm in serious trouble!"

Waver's desperate tone made Perseus stop joking immediately. His expression turned serious as his mind quickly analyzed the situation. There was no way to escape without facing Saber first. He couldn't go to his Master's aid without risking being pursued by the knight.

He gritted his teeth, frustrated, but he knew he had no other choice.

"I'm sorry, Waver" he responded mentally. "I can't help you right now. If I try to reach you, Saber will follow me, and that could be the end for us. You're going to have to handle this on your own for now."

Waver felt a knot in his stomach, but he knew Rider was right. "I understand," he replied, his voice trembling.

"Just... buy some time."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the forest, Kiritsugu carefully observed the battle between Rider and Saber. Taking advantage of the chaos caused by Caster's intrusion, he had managed to slip away and reunite with Irisviel, who had also used Rider's distraction to escape.

"We need to move. I don't want them catching up to us" Kiritsugu said as they advanced through the undergrowth together.

At the same time, Maiya, hidden in another part of the forest, had located Waver. Without hesitation, she reported to Kiritsugu through the communicator.

"I found him" she said coldly.

"Eliminate him," Kiritsugu ordered.

Maiya wasted no time and opened fire with her submachine gun. However, to her surprise, every shot missed. Waver, though terrified, had managed to defend himself with sorcery. With his mana reserves strengthened by Edmund's ampoule, he was able to use magic that would normally be beyond his reach.

Maiya frowned and changed tactics, drawing her pistol and calling for reinforcements through her communicator.

"Kiritsugu, I need help. I can't break through his defenses."

Kiritsugu quickened his pace. He couldn't allow Rider's Master to escape. Upon reaching Maiya's location, he saw Waver struggling to stay on his feet, barely holding off the attacks with his sorcery. Wasting no time, he raised his rifle and aimed directly at his target's chest.

Waver, seeing the silhouettes of Kiritsugu and Irisviel approaching, felt panic seize him. His mind screamed for him to run, but before he could react, Maiya fired again, forcing him to stay on the defensive. His heart pounded in his chest. He knew he wouldn't last much longer.

Then, he saw the glint of Kiritsugu's rifle barrel.

Waver shut his eyes, expecting the worst.

The gunshot echoed through the forest.

But the pain never came.

Confused, he slowly opened his eyes and patted his chest, searching for the fatal wound. There was nothing.

He let out a shaky sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

"Did he… miss?" he thought in disbelief. "Is this really the Magus Killer?"

What Waver didn't know was that his life had been saved by someone else.

A few meters ahead of him, an unfamiliar figure had appeared out of nowhere. Kiritsugu, surprised, adjusted his aim to focus on the new intruder.

It was a man with a calm demeanor, dressed in elegant yet comfortable clothing. He held a kitchen knife, which faintly shimmered with a magical aura. His expression showed mild fatigue, as if all of this was nothing more than an unnecessary bother.

Edmund had arrived.

With a relaxed motion, Edmund lowered his magic-reinforced knife and sighed.

"You always have to get yourself into trouble, don't you, Waver?" he remarked with a hint of amusement.

Kiritsugu wasted no time analyzing the situation. Without knowing who this mage was but deducing that he was a formidable opponent, he fired again.

Another bullet, split in two.

Kiritsugu frowned. This man was no ordinary foe.

Edmund, on the other hand, glanced at Kiritsugu's rifle with mild disinterest before smirking. "Well, looks like someone wants to play rough."

Seeing that his opponent wouldn't go down easily, Kiritsugu put away his rifle and drew the Thompson Contender—the same weapon that had destroyed Kayneth's defenses in the original story.

Edmund, noticing the change in weapon, immediately understood the danger. "That's not good for me" he thought.

With an amused expression, he raised his hand and conjured a group of small, grotesque green creatures. With pointed ears, deformed faces, and twisted grins, a dozen of these beings appeared around Kiritsugu and Maiya.

"Go on, have fun" Edmund ordered with a lazy smile.

The creatures lunged at Kiritsugu and Maiya with surprising speed. Seeing them approach, Kiritsugu quickly switched weapons, drawing a pistol and firing a second later, taking down several. But there were too many. Maiya, meanwhile, found herself surrounded, forced into close combat with the grotesque entities.

Irisviel, who was near Kiritsugu, screamed as several creatures grabbed her by the hair and dragged her toward Edmund.

Kiritsugu felt a chill run through his chest as he watched his wife being taken by those abominations.

"What the hell are these things?" he thought, struggling to break free as chaos erupted in the forest.