"Damn it, just a wraith summoned by us, just a Servant of a Master, and yet you dare to look at me, Kayneth, with such eyes!"
The girl's gaze was not one of admiration, nor one of denial. It was simply the gaze of an ordinary person looking at broken tiles and rubble—an absolutely equal and impartial gaze.
"Such eyes… how could they exist? I cannot allow it, and I absolutely will not acknowledge it!"
Under the threat of death, Kayneth's emotions grew cold. He raised one hand. "Lancer, this is a formidable enemy. Since the opponent already knows your true name, there is no need to conceal your Noble Phantasm any longer."
As soon as his words fell, from elsewhere, an incomparably vast and powerful flow of mana crossed space and poured into Karna's body.
"Understood, Master."
In an instant, Karna's body radiated golden light. The overwhelming magical power enveloping him spread outward in all directions.
Even Satsuki felt slight discomfort staring directly at that radiance. The blazing heat was so intense that it began to melt the surrounding concrete ground.
"It seems your Master is rather straightforward."
In Satsuki's Tenseigan, that massive energy flow was like a blazing torch, endlessly pouring into the golden-armored Heroic Spirit before her, who had already transformed into a miniature sun.
Bathed in flames, Karna brandished his golden spear. At this moment, his eyes were sharp and confident. There was no longer the slightest hint of disdain in his gaze toward Satsuki.
"My name is Karna, son of the sun god. I am a nameless Servant. If you fear not my spear, then come at me with all you have."
"Then let me see your true strength." Satsuki raised her black sword obliquely, her tone indifferent. "Perhaps once you defeat me, my name will no longer matter."
The second round begins!
At that moment, fifteen kilometers away from the shopping district where the battle raged, in the basement of the Fuyuki Church—
Kirei Kotomine sat within the shadows.
His eyes were closed. He was not resting, but listening tensely in the silence.
Through the ability known as shared perception, he observed the battle between the dazzling, sun-like Lancer and the mysterious Servant who not only held her own against him, but in fact, firmly held the upper hand.
"Is that Saber? Yet she looks like nothing more than an ordinary woman, and still she can fight Karna to such a degree?"
Even from dozens of miles away, Kirei Kotomine could directly feel how overwhelmingly powerful that sun-like hero was. And yet, inexplicably, when his perspective shifted to that Assassin who danced with death, he felt as if she could snatch away both their lives at any moment.
What kind of confidence and strength was this? What kind of life, what kind of hero could possess such confidence and strength?
"I am but a wraith writhing in the darkness, with no desire as an individual. I exist only to obey your will and that of the Counter Force."
That deep voice of the Heroic Spirit resounded in Kirei's mind. He froze for a moment, then regained the calm of a priest and executor.
"Very well, then continue observing, Assassin."
Withdrawing from the resonance of shared vision, Kirei Kotomine spoke coldly to an old phonograph on the desk before him: "The battle has already begun in the warehouse district near the seaside park."
"If not for your initial rejection of my proposal, this might not be the first battle, but the second already, Kirei."
From the ancient phonograph came Tokiomi Tohsaka's elegant and composed voice. Though displeased with his disciple's defiance, ever since summoning that king, he had believed without hesitation that victory in this war was already within his grasp.
"It seems to be a fight between Saber and Lancer. And that Saber's strength is extraordinary, forcing Lancer's Master to supply him with vast amounts of mana. I even suspect that Lancer's Master has already used a Command Seal."
"Is that so?" From the phonograph, Tokiomi's voice grew faint, intermittent. "…Truly worthy of being called the strongest class among the seven? Then, have you observed the Masters of both sides?"
"…No."
"As expected. It seems that through this battle, the Masters across the city have already learned much. The key to this conflict lies with that mysterious Saber and her Master. Kirei, watch them closely."
"...Understood."
The voice from the phonograph fell silent, and Kirei once again entered resonance, watching the legendary battle unfold.
With his Master supplying immense amounts of mana, Karna's attributes were significantly strengthened. In the contest of pure strength where he had previously fallen behind, the tide suddenly turned the moment they clashed again.
Satsuki, holding her sword in one hand, was struck back hard by the overwhelming power of the spear. As she slid backward, her feet carved two long gouges into the ground.
But Karna's assault, like a storm, gave her no respite. Twin bursts of fire erupted from his back, propelling his golden figure to a speed so great that even the Tenseigan struggled to follow.
The drastic change left Satsuki momentarily unaccustomed, her body moving instinctively in rapid evasion.
The black sword in her hand responded with speed and force beyond reason, answering the sun's challenge.
Sparks and flames scattered. The storm grew fiercer. Nearby, mountains of shipping containers were torn to shreds under the aftermath of their exchange.
The violent storm and erupting waves churned the sea, until the warehouse district was briefly drowned in torrential rain.
Yet the two combatants were completely unaware. Their auras alone formed an invisible barrier around them, preventing even the raindrops from intruding.
For a brief moment, their weapons locked in a deadlock of tremendous force, sparks flashing like lightning where spear and sword clashed.
"I've already found your weakness."
Karna curved his lips into a faint smile, then suddenly released his force, crouching low.
Through the Tenseigan's vision, Satsuki could see that he was storing more power than ever before.
Her gaze remained unchanged. She attempted to raise her sword to block the incoming strike. But in that instant, the golden torque around Karna's neck shone with blinding radiance. The Tenseigan was suddenly overwhelmed by the searing sunlight, and she instinctively blinked. In that split second, Karna vanished from before her eyes.
When he reappeared, the golden figure was already behind her, unleashing a ferocious horizontal sweep.
Even with the Tenseigan's support, Satsuki's reaction was half a beat too slow. Though her physical abilities were powerful enough to withstand such force, combat reflexes were not built on talent alone. They required countless battles and brushes with death. In these areas, Satsuki was lacking.
She only managed to shift her grip, forcing her black blade behind her in a desperate block.
Boom—!
The immense impact struck from behind, sending Satsuki flying. She crashed violently through a makeshift building beside the warehouse district, raising clouds of dust. Yet it did not end there.
Karna's strike had already been imbued with an external release of mana. The moment it struck, it triggered a second explosion upon Satsuki's body.
"Even exploiting your reliance on those eyes, it seems it's still not so easy to defeat you."
Karna murmured to himself. In his senses, the mysterious girl's aura had not weakened in the slightest. No—rather than weakening, it had grown even stronger after his last blow.
The golden spear angled downward. Fierce flames erupted from its tip, and with the surging shockwave, Karna's body once again transformed into light, rushing straight toward Satsuki.
Yet the scattered pile of shelves was instantly blown apart by immense force.
Unscathed, Satsuki turned around, her gaze locking on the onrushing Karna. A glint of light flashed through those golden eyes.
Then came Lancer's strike, crashing down like a collapsing mountain.
Boom—!
The clang of colliding metal was drowned out by the roar of explosive mana and swirling gales.
Karna stared in disbelief at the scene before him—this black-haired, black-clad Servant had blocked his full-force strike with just one hand on her sword. Even though the rocks behind her shattered under the pressure, even though cracks spread like a spider's web around her, she had not retreated an inch.
Then, something unusual happened.
The broken stones and container wreckage around them eerily floated upward. Even the girl's long black hair lifted into the air, suspended under the influence of some abnormal gravity.
Waves of violet chakra coursed around her body. In the blink of an eye, Satsuki was completely enveloped in a violet glow. The terrifying power welling endlessly from within her left her no choice but to release it.
This was her Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
With her right arm empowered by this state, her strength soared. Swinging her blade in a horizontal slash, the black light forced the golden sun back hundreds of meters.
As he retreated to shake off the overwhelming force, Karna caught sight of the strange phenomena around them. But the threat the girl posed left him no room for distraction.
In her other hand, seven orbs appeared, merging together in her palm. From it surged an inconceivably powerful force.
Satsuki spoke in a calm, lofty tone: "Let me see how far you can go."
Her left hand, brimming with chakra, had reached its peak.
—Tenseigan Secret Art: Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion.
At the same time, a dazzling radiance flickered in Karna's eyes.
"As a Kshatriya and son of the sun god, how could I possibly fall in the very first battle?"
The crimson light blazing from his eyes was a rainbow that could sear the skies and boil the seas. It shot directly toward the storm Satsuki unleashed. This was the proudest skill of the sun god's son.
—O' Brahma, Cover the Earth.
The storm and the beam erupted from their sources, colliding head-on. The surging mana and catastrophic forces overturned everything around them in an instant.
The ocean itself could not approach this clash. No, more than that—the tremendous power forced the sea outward, exposing the seabed for miles along the coast.
Boom—!
The warehouse district could no longer withstand the forces. Where storm and beam met, an earth-shattering detonation erupted, annihilating everything around them.
In the deafening explosion, the warehouse district was utterly destroyed. The massive waves blown back by the storm surged again under the pull of the tides, crashing toward the shore.
All the warehouses nearby collapsed into rubble. The asphalt roads liquefied from the searing heat.
Hurricane winds mixed with surging waves lifted a tsunami over ten meters high, rushing straight toward the coast of Fuyuki City.
And yet, the two combatants still floated in midair, eyes locked on each other.
As the titanic wave approached, both of them swung their weapons toward it. Two brilliant arcs of light slashed outward, instantly cutting down the calamity before it could be born.
"Still unwilling to reveal your name? Nameless Servant, with strength like yours, even if you hide your identity, history could never mark you as obscure."
The red light faded from Karna's body. His presence was steady as ever, yet the ease from their first encounter was gone from his eyes.
"You are strong. Among all the opponents I have faced, you are the first woman who has fought me to this extent—no, even compared to men, you are among the strongest."
"Your spear technique and battle intellect are equally impressive." With a graceful motion, Satsuki transformed her black sword into a folding fan and released her Tenseigan Chakra Mode. "Praise from such a formidable opponent—I accept it gladly."
Suddenly, a sharp voice cut through the air.
"The battle ends here! Lancer, retreat!"
An irate voice echoed from all around. For an ordinary person, the first reaction would be to look around in confusion. But finding the source of that voice with the naked eye was impossible. Though not high-level, it was still a form of magecraft.
However, the two present were anything but ordinary. In fact, even among the endless Heroic Spirits in the Throne, Karna was an absolute powerhouse worthy of a seat upon the throne. As for Satsuki—there was no need to even mention.
"This level of battle… she can no longer maintain long-term mana supply. If the fight continues, I'll be forced to use a Command Seal. At this stage, using one would be foolish. Since we've already obtained the information we sought, there's no need to remain any longer."
A trace of regret flickered in Karna's eyes. To face such a strong opponent was a battle worthy of honor. To retreat was never even an option for him.
Yet, he was ultimately a Servant, sworn to serve and obey the Master who summoned him. The Master's command was absolute. Even if it twisted his will, he would carry it out without hesitation.
For he was the hero of charity, one who could accept most things with, "So, this is your reason?"—and acknowledge them as truth.
From his eyes, Satsuki glimpsed a flicker of hesitation.
"Since you have no wish to continue fighting, then this devastation around us still needs someone to clean it up."
She tucked the folding fan at her waist, then quickly wove hand seals before her chest. Her Tenseigan shone brilliantly, and under a strange force, the gravel and rubble around them began to return to their original state, as if time itself flowed backward.
This was a new ability born from the combination of her Tenseigan and the Sacred Wheel of the Three Divine Kings' Myōhō—the Brahma Creation Wheel. Though still immature, it cost her little, required no true name release, and was already sufficient to restore lifeless objects.
In less than a few minutes, the entire coastal street was restored as though nothing had happened.
"You are a god?" Karna looked at Satsuki with deep curiosity. "Such power is not something mortals could possess."
"God? Demon? Or Buddha? If it's just a title, I don't care." After finishing the restoration, Satsuki spoke with subtle implication. "But it seems your Master has grown impatient."
"Until our next battle, don't let carelessness cost you your life. I can feel it—this Holy Grail War carries extraordinary significance."
Having said this, Karna dissolved into particles of light, vanishing as he shifted into Spirit Form.
"Understood. The same to you."
Satsuki then deactivated the dazzling glow of the Tenseigan. Her perception far surpassed Karna's, allowing her to sense details beyond his imagination.
Even during what seemed an intense clash, most of her attention had been on her surroundings.
Her fishing attempt had succeeded. Through this battle, she had sensed the presence of two pairs of Masters and Servants.
The fight had lasted through the night. The dim sky from when she had left was now brightening into dawn.
Descending slowly from midair, Satsuki exhaled deeply. Even so, the battle just now had been a rare experience for her. The clash of metal against metal, the contest between blade and spearhead, the sparks and energy bursting forth, the pressure of the wind and space itself trembling in her ears.
And, of course, her not-so-great acting—though fortunately, her naturally indifferent expression meant it wasn't too obvious.
Her golden eyes glanced at the fading moon retreating before the rising sun. After only a single look at the blazing sun high above the clouds, she shifted her focus elsewhere.
Her steps upon the warehouse street were as light and unrestrained as when she had first arrived.
Still, "It feels like… I've forgotten something?"