Chapter 71: The Argo Sets Sail!

"Are you serious? I mean, I'm confident in my dodging skills, but getting touched means instant death—this is way too hard!"

Jason grumbled as he dodged Serenity's relentless attacks. The dagger in her hand moved like a venomous serpent, striking again and again without pause.

Despite facing a storm of vicious and precise strikes, Jason barely managed to evade them each time, letting out startled yelps as the blades whizzed past him. He didn't even dare to counterattack—getting close to Serenity was simply out of the question. He hated pain, and the consequences of even a single scratch were unthinkable.

"Saber, take this seriously already!"

Rin Tohsaka attempted to support Jason with magecraft, but with Serenity's A+ Agility, landing a hit was far from easy. She moved with the grace of a gymnast, twisting her body in perfect arcs to evade every single magical bullet.

"I am taking this seriously! Commanders aren't supposed to be on the front lines, you know!"

"Useless Servant! Just cover me! Now, by the power of my Command Spell—Saber, release your Noble Phantasm!"

Jason's Noble Phantasm, the Argo, Brilliance That Tears Through the Heavens, allowed him to summon his former crewmates to fight alongside him for a limited time. However, it required an immense amount of mana—far too much for Rin to sustain under normal circumstances, as it was equivalent to supplying multiple Servants at once.

Thus, using a Command Spell to activate it was the optimal choice. The mana boost from the spell was enough to sustain about four Servants, though due to Jason's insistence, the mana-hungry Heracles was included as a priority, meaning only three could be summoned.

Noticing Rin's movement, Serenity suddenly intensified her assault. Without hesitation, she stabbed her own arm with her dagger, causing poisonous blood to gush out and splatter onto the ground.

The sound of corrosion filled the air as thick, violet mist spread rapidly from the point of impact. In mere moments, the poisonous haze had expanded across a vast area, carried by the wind as it surged toward Rin, seemingly pursuing her with unnatural intent.

Rin barely had time to react, let alone escape. All she could do was watch in horror as the toxic wave closed in, ready to swallow her whole.

Then—

A massive warship tore through the mist and crashed into the ground with overwhelming force. The impact sent dust and rubble flying in all directions, a shockwave dispersing the deadly fog to reveal the ship's imposing form.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Heroes of the Argo, it's time to set sail!"

Standing proudly at the ship's bow, a golden-haired Servant drew his sword and pointed it forward with unshakable confidence.

"The invincible Heracles, the long-range specialist Atalanta, and the 'God of Medicine' Asclepius, who just so happens to counter you perfectly! Assassin, you're finished!"

Jason had carefully chosen Servants suited to the current battle. Against Serenity, victory should have been assured.

But this was no ordinary Holy Grail War.

"...Wait, where is she?"

Jason shaded his eyes with his hand, scanning the area for Serenity.

"Did she run away? No matter—we've got a skilled tracker here. Atalanta, go!"

"The Holy Grail War again? You dragged us into another one of your ridiculous schemes?"

Atalanta shot Jason an annoyed look before delivering a swift kick to his side. Jason, completely unprepared for an attack from his own ally, failed to dodge. With a pained yelp, he tumbled off the ship's bow, face-planting onto the ground.

"You damn cat!"

Clutching his bruised face, Jason groaned as he got back up. This was the second time in just two days that his face had taken serious damage. "If you want to be mad, at least wait until after the fight! Couldn't you be more composed, like Heracles?! And Assassin—what the hell? She just abandoned her Master and ran?!"

Just as Jason prepared to order his crew to storm the manor, a voice drifted from behind Rin.

"...No, my goal... has already been achieved."

Serenity's whisper sent a chill down Rin's spine. Before she could react, a pair of soft arms wrapped around her from behind, and a delicate, poison-scented hand gently covered her cheek.

"Master!"

Jason was dumbfounded—Serenity hadn't tried to escape at all. Instead, she had walked straight into the range of his Noble Phantasm, surrounding herself with multiple enemies.

"Assassin, don't do anything reckless! Let her go, and I'll guarantee your safe retreat! You don't want to end up in a suicidal stalemate on the first day, do you?"

But Serenity made no move to release Rin. Her hands continued to glide over the magus's skin.

"Heracles!"

Jason didn't need to give the order—Heracles had already moved. With agility defying his massive frame, he lunged toward Rin, his temple-forged axe-sword cleaving through the air at supersonic speed, aimed directly at Serenity.

Atalanta also loosed a volley of arrows, targeting Serenity's hands in an attempt to force her to let go.

Yet none of their attacks reached.

It wasn't that they were blocked—rather, it was as if Serenity and Rin had been placed under a separate set of rules, untouched by the laws governing the battlefield. They were now trapped within a space where outside interference simply ceased to exist.

Jason's mind reeled as foreign knowledge surfaced within him. When had it been planted there? From the very start, he had been caught in some sort of Noble Phantasm. The rules of the Holy Grail War had already been altered. The knowledge was inscribed in his mind like common sense—so natural that he wouldn't have noticed it unless he actively searched for it.

This was no ordinary Noble Phantasm.

Jason, who had lived through the Age of Gods, could tell—it wasn't something Serenity could have activated herself. No, the scale of this effect was far beyond what an Assassin-class Servant could achieve. Only a renowned Caster, or perhaps an absurdly powerful Divine Spirit, could have pulled this off.

"So you never intended to actually fight us. You were just stalling for time?"

Jason replayed Serenity's earlier actions in his head. If she had truly wanted to attack, there had been no need for her to dodge in the first place.

"Damn it, we just wasted a Command Spell. Master, don't choose to fight! You could take out Assassin, but you'd end up getting hit with some horrifying poison. Asclepius might be able to bring you back from the Underworld, but—"

"No, this isn't something that can be cured with a simple elixir. And even if we had a replica, we lack the necessary materials. Please don't make empty promises on my behalf."

Asclepius cut Jason off before he could continue boasting. He had no intention of letting himself be saddled with a reputation for incompetence.

Rin, who had been on the verge of choosing combat, hesitated at Asclepius's words. If he hadn't spoken up in time, things might have taken a far worse turn.