Chapter 11: Two Battlefronts

The once calm coastal waters of Fuyuki had turned into a raging sea.

Artoria's figure bobbed with the waves as she gasped for air, eyes fixed on Morgan in the distance.

In life, she had never faced her sister Morgan in combat. Be it Magecraft or spear techniques, Morgan's style was entirely unfamiliar to her.

And in pure combat terms, Morgan was clearly the more versatile of the two.

Her mastery of battlefield Magecraft was so refined that even Artoria's own teacher, Merlin, might not match her in this particular domain.

As Saber considered this, Morgan's voice rang out.

"Be honored, Artoria. I mean that."

Artoria tensed, channeling every ounce of Mana she had. She reinforced her internal defenses, determined not to be caught off guard by the same trick twice.

Just then, the white light of Mana in Morgan's hand condensed to its peak—then shot upward and vanished into the sky.

Artoria's senses went into overdrive.

"Saber! Above!"

Irisviel's anxious voice called out from the shoreline, urging her to look up.

Uncertain what form the next attack would take, Artoria focused on reinforcing her defenses and keeping her eyes on Morgan—only to momentarily neglect her surroundings.

She jerked her head upward.

Directly above her, the sky rippled like water tainted with ink—deep black spreading in waves. From its center, pale blue motes of magical light began to swirl.

Dense Mana surged from the depths of this "sky-sea."

A spearhead—sharp, spinning—slowly emerged from within.

Danger!

Artoria's instincts screamed. She instantly dispelled the Invisible Air that concealed her blade, revealing the radiant golden sword beneath. With all her strength, she swung upward to intercept the descending magic spear.

Noble Phantasm clashed against spell-forged weaponry. The violent force of the impact warped the ocean around her, creating a massive crater of roiling sea centered on her position.

There was no time to release its true name—she could only meet the attack with her blade in its base form.

Overwhelming Mana pressed down on her, forcing her knees to bend beneath the pressure. Gritting her teeth, she held her ground and blocked the magical spear from above.

As the force peaked, the King of Knights let out a fierce, defiant roar.

"Raaahhhhhhhhhh!!"

Two surging forces clashed and canceled each other out. The ocean surface was forced downward by the sheer pressure of the wind, sinking several meters before a deafening silence set in—only to be shattered by a shockwave fierce enough to tear a person apart as it rippled outward in every direction.

On the beach, Irisviel stumbled and fell to the sand, instinctively lowering her body to brace against the aftershock from the battlefield.

Also affected were Kiritsugu Emiya and Maiya Hisau, who had followed the signal from Irisviel's transmitter and arrived at the seaside park.

Their battlefield-honed instincts kicked in immediately, and both dove behind a thick tree trunk for cover.

A blast of wind roared past on either side of the trunk, stripping leaves and branches with it. The forest bordering the park groaned under the assault.

The battle had erupted right here at the seaside. The closest elevated area was the bay warehouse district several hundred meters away, where cranes and high towers offered potential vantage points.

Forced to approach through the cover of the trees, Kiritsugu closed in on the spot where his wife, Irisviel, had fallen.

"Kiritsugu, it looks like someone else is fighting nearby," Maiya's voice came through his earpiece. "Seems like it's Berserker's Master and Lancer's Servant. They're moving toward the coastal warehouse area."

Kiritsugu was deeply shaken.

The Holy Grail War had only one vague rule: avoid fighting in public. Everything else—alliances, rivalries—was up to the Masters and Servants themselves.

But a Servant and a Master fighting separately from their partners? That defied everything Kiritsugu understood about the Grail War.

Could it be that Berserker had lost all reason from Mad Enhancement and abandoned his Master, leaving him to be targeted by other Servants?

If that were the case, then why hadn't a Command Spell been used to call the Servant back?

Was it already too late? Kiritsugu frowned, unsettled by the possibilities.

"I've spotted the lady, Kiritsugu," Maiya reported again. "She's on the beach—looks like she was knocked over by the backlash from Saber and Berserker's fight."

Kiritsugu tightened his grip on the Walther sniper rifle.

"Maiya, go retrieve Iri. I'm going to check out who's fighting Berserker's Master."

"Understood."

With orders given, Kiritsugu moved at once, weaving through the trees and underbrush of Fuyuki's seaside park, heading directly for the warehouse district.

He had no intention of joining the battle or supporting anyone.

Saber and Berserker were already locked in a fierce standoff. If Saber looked like she was going to lose, Kiritsugu would take the shot—from the shadows—to eliminate Berserker's Master.

He skirted along the eastern edge of the port, dashing through the dark, vaulting over neatly stacked cargo containers in search of a viable vantage point.

The ideal spot was the gantry crane—the highest point in the entire bay warehouse area.

But if that were the case, someone had probably already claimed it, using it as the best lookout post to monitor any approaching Masters or Servants.

That meant Kiritsugu needed to find an alternate route that wouldn't put him in anyone's line of sight as he closed in on the "second battlefield."

Before long, he found a position where he could observe both the top of the gantry crane—should any Masters be lurking there—and the fighting within the warehouse streets. Steadying his rifle, he peered through the night-vision scope.

But once the scene came into focus, Kiritsugu blinked, thinking he had misseen.

He pulled back from the scope, enhanced his eyesight with Mana, and looked again with his own eyes.

"This... this can't be..."

Kiritsugu had assumed that the commotion Maiya detected was Berserker's Master fleeing from Lancer's pursuit.

What he saw, however, was something he never expected.

They were evenly matched.

Despite being unarmed, Berserker's Master—Tenkei Shiomi—was calmly evading Lancer's relentless strikes. His movements were fluid, composed, even allowing for counterattacks.

Sometimes he struck back with bare fists and kicks. Other times, he unleashed Magecraft—likely prepared in advance.

The ground and the containers on either side were now covered in jagged ice. Lancer, thrown off balance by the frozen surface, had to constantly correct his footing.

"A water-affinity Magus?" Kiritsugu narrowed his eyes.

Information on Tenkei Shiomi was scarce. All Kiritsugu had been able to learn was that Shiomi was affiliated with the Mage's Association and had some connection to Touko Aozaki, known for analyzing the Age of Gods and reconstructing the foundation of Rune Magecraft.

But actual records of Shiomi casting Magecraft were almost nonexistent. Most of his work, classified under special assignments for the Association, had been sealed upon completion.

"A real piece of work," Kiritsugu muttered.

He gave up on trying to snipe Tenkei Shiomi.

His scope couldn't even track the man.

...

(40 Chapters Ahead)

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