Heracles being one-shot left the area in dead silence.
Only when Saber finally shook off the shock of being blown away again and again did she sprint to Irisviel's side, her expression grimmer than ever, eyes locked on Ophis.
"H-hey—this is cheating, isn't it?! That ability, that Noble Phantasm—and that physical performance! How can her stats possibly be only Rank E?!"
Waver yelped right after, relief flooding him even as he panicked.
That big guy's parameters were almost all A-rank or higher!
A monster like that… deleted in an instant.
Thank God she hadn't gone after their pair earlier—and thank God he hadn't ordered Rider to sneak-attack her.
Otherwise, it might not have been only that big guy getting blown into dust.
"Mmh. Looks like that little girl is quite the troublesome opponent."
Even Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, wore a rare hint of gravity—though he quickly burst into laughter again.
"Hahaha! Good, good. Now that has the value of conquest."
"You, honestly… seriously…"
Faced with a Servant like this, Waver could only sigh helplessly.
"Her Noble Phantasm is conservatively A-rank or higher. Its power is nearly instantaneous, and strong enough to annihilate a Servant with Endurance at Rank A in one blow."
Hidden in a secluded shadow, Saber's true Master, Kiritsugu Emiya, watched Ophis through a sniper scope, frowning as he analyzed.
"Her apparent weakness is her physical ability at Rank E—but judging from the fight, that information is inaccurate. It may be the effect of her Noble Phantasm or a Skill. Either way, the physical performance she can display is far beyond E. We have to consider the possibility she even surpasses Saber. At the same time, she has a strange ability that lets her pass through objects—and even living bodies. The principle is unclear, and we don't know whether she can use it to create attacks that ignore defense."
The more he analyzed, the more Kiritsugu felt like this Holy Grail War was impossible to fight.
If that "phasing" truly amounted to invincibility, then even the King of Knights with Avalon might struggle to be her opponent.
Still… it wasn't as if there were no options.
If a Servant couldn't be dealt with, then he would strike at the Master.
With the title "Mage Killer," Kiritsugu's skill at eliminating magi needed no further proof.
The head of the Tohsaka family—if he could find an opening, Kiritsugu was confident he could take him out with a single shot.
The only difficulty was drawing him out of the Tohsaka workshop's magecraft territory. But Kiritsugu didn't believe the man could stay holed up inside, never taking a single step out, forever.
There would be a chance.
But before that, he had to protect Saber and Iri.
Thinking that, Kiritsugu tensed again and fixed his gaze on the battlefield.
If she attacked Saber and Iri here, it would be a disaster.
Even so, Kiritsugu couldn't think of any good method. No matter how much she resembled a violent type of magus, he wasn't naïve enough to believe Origin Bullets would have any effect on a hero engraved into history itself.
But if things reached the absolute worst-case scenario, he could only use those means to draw her attention.
Down below, Saber raised her sword, face set with grim resolve as she stared at Ophis.
Her abilities were too uncanny. That strange sword was something she couldn't afford to underestimate.
She believed she could unleash an attack of comparable force—but she absolutely could not fire it instantly.
That kind of strike…
It was impossible to guard against.
An enemy like this couldn't be dealt with right now. She needed to find a way to withdraw first…
At that moment, Ophis didn't acknowledge Saber's careful stance at all. Instead, she turned to the black armor.
For her, only friends and opponents destined for the final stage were worth leaving alive. As for some random pitch-black thing like that—if she ran into it, she'd just deal with it on the way.
Her reason for answering the summoning wasn't the Holy Grail War. To her, the war was only a means to form a contract with a Master. The sooner the contract was secured, the sooner she could go do what she actually wanted.
In that case—finish fast.
As she thought that, golden ripples surfaced behind Ophis one after another, radiating a terrifying presence.
But at that instant, the black armor dissolved into black mist and vanished.
"…"
The atmosphere turned a little awkward.
Ophis fell silent for a moment, then turned, her gaze sweeping over Rider and Saber—making Saber's guard spike and drawing a choked whimper from Waver.
"Who are you?"
After holding her gaze for a few seconds, Saber asked seriously.
"I am Archer. My name is Ophis."
Saber hadn't truly expected an answer, yet Ophis smiled faintly and said it plainly.
Since it was a friend's question—and not particularly important information—Ophis answered offhandedly.
Then Ophis turned lightly and dissolved into spirit form, disappearing.
To her, Saber had never been an enemy, and Rider was not an enemy—at least not yet.
The fight was over.
Watching Ophis leave, almost everyone present let out a breath they hadn't realized they were holding.
That overwhelming display had left too strong an impression… of course, as Heroic Spirits, they could withstand storms of that magnitude. But until they understood that bizarre ability, no one would be eager to make an enemy of her.
Compared to that, the matter of "two Berserkers" could be pushed back and investigated later.
And those relieved weren't only the ones present.
"The King of Heroes has withdrawn on her own."
Hearing Kotomine Kirei's report through the communicator, Tokiomi Tohsaka finally felt the boulder in his chest lift.
Although he'd exposed quite a few cards—and she'd even announced her True Name herself… there was nothing he could do about a Servant he had no way to control. At least the outcome was acceptable: one of the Berserkers had been eliminated.
When he first heard Ophis had gone out and provoked so many Servants, Tokiomi had felt his blood run cold.
Fortunately, Ophis's strength far exceeded anything he'd imagined.
Between his relief—and Kirei's inexplicably casual tone—Tokiomi unconsciously glossed over the issue that Ophis's displayed physical ability vastly exceeded her surface parameters.
"Still… two Berserkers…"
Turning over the information he'd just received, Tokiomi rubbed at his brow with elegant restraint.
"Most likely some magus performed an illegal summoning. But since one has already been eliminated, it's no longer a threat. Have Assassin investigate a bit. However, if there's no lead in the short term, don't waste additional strength on that matter."
And with that, he arrived at his judgment with ease.
"Yes. Understood, Tohsaka-sama."
Kotomine Kirei's voice came through the communicator, devoid of emotion.
---
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