The night was deep. The temperature in the air had already begun to drop due to the early winter, and without notice, a faint white mist had spread across the streets.
In the warehouse district, Arthur Pendragon released his aura without restraint, paying close attention to his surroundings. But after waiting for a long time, he still detected no reaction from any Servant, and a hint of disappointment crept into his heart.
I see. Are they all planning to play it safe on the first night...
Understanding that the other Masters likely didn't want to be ambushed by a latecomer and thus hadn't sent their Servants to accept his "challenge," Arthur composed himself and prepared to call his Master to return to their base.
"Saber, perhaps we should call it a night and head back?"
After waiting for nearly two hours, Irisviel hesitated for a moment before suggesting this.
"Yes, I was just about to... No, Master, please step back. It seems someone has accepted my 'invitation' after all."
He had been about to dismiss his weapon, but at that moment, Arthur sensed something. He shielded Irisviel behind him, his emerald eyes looking warily in a certain direction.
The instant his words fell, a rustling sound, like the beating of wings, suddenly rang out.
Then, under Irisviel's astonished gaze, an "angel" slowly descended from the night sky.
But to call it an "angel" wasn't quite accurate.
It was more like someone who had gained wings through some kind of method. The moment they landed, the pair of wings on their back seemed to disintegrate, turning into a flurry of paper sheets that fluttered onto the asphalt road, looking like a field of fallen feathers.
Amidst that field of "feathers," a slender figure wearing a white cloak stepped out of the pale mist. Their face beneath the hood was obscured by a special triangular paper mask decorated with a crow's eye pattern. In their hand, they held a strange spear wrapped in cloth strips.
Without a doubt, this was the challenger, a Servant sent by another Master.
"Lancer, is it? I thought I would come up empty-handed tonight. It seems someone else was as impatient as I was."
While wondering why the other party was deliberately hiding their face, Arthur guessed it was a way to conceal their identity and revealed a smile filled with fighting spirit.
However, Aozaki Rin did not answer immediately. At that moment, several sheets of paper beside him automatically folded into the shape of paper cranes, sharing the situation on his end with the other side.
—[Sister, can you see?]
"I can. But that Servant is a bit tricky. He's the legendary King of Knights of Britain, Arthur Pendragon. You can test him for a few moves at most and then come back, Rei. We can pick another opponent later."
Looking at the image displayed on the crystal ball in her hand, Manaka revealed Saber's True Name without hesitation, her telepathic reply to the young man tinged with worry.
But if Aozaki Rin were by her side, he would have discovered that Sajou Manaka was not staying obediently at home as she had promised. Instead, she was moving towards a certain location at a pace that seemed slow yet was incredibly fast.
Arthur Pendragon?
Hearing this name, the stern, clear voice of a certain girl involuntarily flashed through Aozaki Rin's mind. But he knew the King Arthur before him was male. Did that mean this was the true, historical one from the legends?
To think he would actually encounter King Arthur right off the bat. Although Aozaki Rin was surprised, he felt no fear. Instead, he wanted to see what the difference in skill was between this King Arthur and the adoptive sister he met in another dream, to see who was superior.
A slightly nostalgic feeling rose from the bottom of his heart. Aozaki Rin unconsciously smiled, the thin lips revealed beneath the crow-eye mask curving into a handsome arc.
"Saber... The legendary King of Knights of Britain?"
"Wh-..."
Hearing the other party state his True Name directly, surprise flashed across the faces of both Arthur and Irisviel behind him.
Does he have a skill that reveals True Names? Or did I expose myself somehow?
Unable to figure out what was happening, Arthur's heart grew cautious.
Although he couldn't identify the Lancer before him in this short time, just from their ability to see through True Names and the magecraft they had just displayed, it was clear they were no ordinary foe.
"What's wrong? Is the great King of Knights afraid to attack now that his True Name has been exposed?"
To confuse his opponent and prevent them from recognizing the true identity of the Lancer he had inherited, Aozaki Rin had prepared himself on the way here. He spoke provocative words that didn't match his personality, trying to keep his own identity hidden.
However, even though his words were so blunt, his voice was so pleasant that the actual effect was not nearly as good as he had hoped.
In fact, because he had concealed his face, revealing only the lower half, his original aura became even more mysterious, creating a strange sense of flawed beauty. This, combined with the way he lightly twitched the tip of his spear and tilted his head with a slight smile, momentarily stunned both Arthur and Irisviel.
But a moment later, the King of Knights snapped back to reality as if facing a great enemy. He shielded his Master and said warily.
"What a powerful charm! Be careful, Master! To be able to do that unconsciously, and a spear-wielding Servant at that... Don't tell me you're Diarmuid Ua Duibhne of the Fianna Knights? But... where is your other spear?"
Feeling that his opponent was different from the legends he knew, Arthur was puzzled, but he used his words to try and bait out the other's identity.
However, in response to Arthur's words, Aozaki Rin, beneath his mask, simply blinked in confusion.
Charm? I haven't used any spell like that...
Although he didn't know how his opponent had misunderstood him, anything that steered their impression of him away from "Longinus" was a good thing.
Aozaki Rin chuckled lightly, raised the cloth-wrapped Spear of Longinus, and continued his disguise.
"Who knows? Perhaps what I'm holding isn't a spear at all, but a sword, or a hammer... My class might even be Berserker."
"Hah, as far as taunts go, your words are a bit childish. But, I don't dislike it. In that case, use the weapon in your hand to give me the answer, Lancer!"
Sensing a sort of awkwardness in his opponent's words, Arthur was reminded of when he was first learning to provoke enemies from his adoptive brother.
A smile lifted the corners of his mouth. After having Irisviel move back a bit further, he took a step forward. In an instant, his entire figure shot forward, the invisible holy sword slashing straight at the young man.
At the same time, Aozaki Rin also raised his spear and thrust forward.
—The "Holy Spear" and the Holy Sword collided in an instant.
In that moment, a violent storm erupted in the street!
-------
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