Evening,
Rin broke the third spell circle placed on the roof of the academy, letting out a sigh.
"I've never seen — or heard of — a writing like this," she said aloud, wiping the sweat off her forehead. "Archer, did you find out what kind of Bounded Field it was supposed to be?"
As she and her Servant were the only ones at the academy now, she didn't need to keep the conversations limited to her mind.
"From what we have learned," Rin continued, "at full power, if this field had been activated, it would have dissolved every human being within it. Literally. This is a — soul-eating magic, isn't it?"
"You surmised it correctly, Rin," Archer replied. "We Servants are non-corporeal beings. Minds and souls are our nourishment, just as food is yours. The more souls we ingest, the more Mana we can have."
"Don't tell me this is your way of complaining, Archer…" Rin pouted. "Am I not supplying you enough Mana to sustain your existence?"
Even Rin knew that she didn't have enough Mana to power two Heroic Spirits.
However, as long as neither Archer nor Assassin used their Noble Phantasms together, and if she held back on using the Command Spells, then she wouldn't pass out like before.
Archer chuckled in her mind. "It is not about having sufficient Mana," he said. "But as that saying goes — the more is always better…"
"Tch!" Rin scoffed. "I hope you are not expecting me to do something like this, Archer. Never even think of suggesting doing something like this…"
"… I am glad that we are of one mind in this, then, Master," Archer said, sounding relieved. "I can't think of doing such a thing, either."
Rin let out a sigh. "Let's continue, then," she said. "We may not be able to completely remove the Bounded Field, but… I can jumble it up a bit, I guess."
"What, really?! Wouldn't that just be a waste?"
Rin's head snapped over her shoulder.
Behind her, on the water tank, a man in an armored, blue costume was seated on his haunches, holding a spear on his shoulders.
"Rin… Get ready," Archer's voice in her mind jolted her awake.
Gulping and her heart racing, Rin stood up and eyed the Servant. "Is this your handiwork, then?" she asked.
"Nope…" The Servant grinned. "Dirty tricks like these…"
A hiss cut off the Servant's words, making his red eyes widen.
A massive boom rang out as the water tank under him exploded.
Simultaneously, chains wrapped around Rin out of nowhere before lifting her and throwing her high up in the air.
"Archer! Wait!" Rin said, reinforcing her legs as she landed back on the roof near the edge.
Way to her left, the spear-wielding Servant blurred into existence as well, raising his brows at the destroyed water tank.
As water washed over the roof, another figure materialized there, holding two needle-like weapons, with long chains at their ends.
It was a woman with incredibly long, purple hair and a mask over her eyes.
"Hear well…" Medusa said, pointing her needles at Rin and the Lancer. "… Any interference with the field will be a declaration of War…"
Lancer grinned, spinning his spear wildly.
The scenes of his battle with her were still fresh in his mind.
However, both of them had become much stronger than before, making Lancer's bones itch to test out his strength again.
"Declaration of War? I wonder what we were doing all the while, then, Ma'am," he said, laughing. "I've been looking for you all over the city. So, you were here, huh? Tch-Tch… Should I have kept my mouth shut and let you appear first, then… Haha!"
On the other hand, Rin's heart skipped a beat, now knowing that there was not one, but two Servants at School.
It didn't matter to whom this field belonged anymore.
Without Assassin, Archer would be at a great disadvantage if these two ganged up on him.
So, turning around and with a great urgency, Rin ran toward the roof's edge, trying to get as far away as she could.
"Oh, no, you don't!" Lancer grinned.
In one lunge, he crossed the distance between him and Rin, slicing at her head with the spear.
Rin dodged the attack somehow. "Archer!" she screamed in her mind, pushing the ground with her entire body. "Break my fall!"
Backed by Mana, Rin jumped off the railings on the roof's edge, Archer carrying her midair.
Just as they landed, Lancer appeared behind them and attacked. As a Servant, he could clearly sense the invisible Archer.
However, before the spear could land on Rin, Archer let her go and deflected the blow, sparks oozing out at the contact of weapons.
Panting, Rin turned around and found Archer facing the Lancer, carrying a sword in his hand. Sword?!
"Archer!" she shouted, ignoring the weapon. "No! Not now! Let's leave this place first!"
With a third Servant at the academy, there was no point in remaining there unless they were absolutely sure of winning.
Lancer didn't want that, though.
He was here with specific orders from Kirei — To test out Archer's strength.
"Now that's more like it!" Lancer goaded. "I like it when people get straight to business. What's with the sword? Aren't you an Archer? Haha! Come on. Take out your bow, Archer. I will let you make the first move. I hope… You aren't really thinking of running away now, yeah?"
"Archer?" Rin mumbled, sensing Archer's quietness.
"Running away…"
Lancer, Archer, and Rin's heads snapped up.
Perched on the high, iron railings on the roof's edge up the building, Rider was eying them with a malicious grin on her face.
"No one's leaving…" she said, purple Mana boiling around her. "You all — are my Master's nourishment…"
A chill ran down both Lancer and Archer's spines.
Too late.
Noble Phantasm —
A massive boom resounded throughout the academy.
All spell circles placed by Rider glowed red, and red lightning rumbled out of them.
In a fraction of a second, pillars of red lightning shot up and converged in the sky, becoming a red hole.
With a bang, an eye manifested out of the red hole, pinning both Archer and Lancer to their places, and heralding the battle of the Homurahara Academy.
— Blood Fort Andromeda!
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