Ophis didn't get the chance to lay out her grand, evil plan for the goddess, because at that moment, an uninvited guest cut in.
"You! Let go of Rin!"
Before Ophis could even explain that she wasn't physically touching the goddess whatsoever, a suit of black armor wreathed in dark haze dropped from the sky, bringing down a black knight's greatsword in a heavy, two-handed slash toward Ophis.
Ophis glanced up, brows knitting. Two longswords shot out of her treasury, striking for the black armor while it hung in midair—unable to move. (Which, apparently, doesn't hold true in the anime.)
Yet despite being a Berserker—someone who shouldn't have possessed any reason at all—the black-armored figure moved with startling agility. It snatched one of the flying swords, knocked the other aside with its own black blade, and continued its downward momentum without slowing.
But in the next second, the black armor was blasted back dozens of meters by cannon-fire from countless Mystic Codes.
Only after effortlessly blowing the black armor away did Ophis slowly shift her gaze forward—and as her eyes moved, the Mystic Codes behind her pivoted as well.
Their target was Kariya Matou. His face, already twisted, contorted even further—but even so, he didn't take a single step back.
From him, Ophis could feel hatred so dense it was almost tangible.
"Let Rin go…"
What Kariya showed now was less courage than a kind of near-mad frenzy, a mind on the brink.
"Ishta. Do you know him?"
Ophis tilted her head and asked the goddess at her side.
Ishta's look at Kariya was complicated.
"You could call him an acquaintance. Ugly and laughable—he can't even understand who his real target is."
She sighed.
"Still, his starting point wasn't evil. Spare him, for now. Everything he's clinging to will end tonight."
"Is that so."
Ophis nodded and moved to leave with Ishta—but Kariya, apparently twisting their exchange into something else entirely, suddenly stepped forward.
"Stop! What did you do to Rin? Where are you taking her?!"
He roared at Ophis.
"Did you brainwash her, you bastard? Berserker—get her!"
"Arrrrrrrrrr!!"
The black armor, still scorched, vaulted into the air again and chopped down at Ophis.
Ophis frowned once more.
This Master was acting more like a rabid dog than his Berserker.
"Just kill that pitch-black thing,"
Ishta said with a quiet sigh at her side.
"Once he loses his power, he might finally see things clearly."
…Couldn't you do it yourself?
Even so, Ophis nodded. A silver light flickered through her eyes—gone in a blink.
Because the next instant—
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"
Thunder roared. In a single moment, the black armor was run over by a mighty war chariot, crushed into the ground and left unable to move.
"Hahahaha! I don't know what's going on here, but this isn't the place for a fight," boomed the laughing voice.
"And I've got some business with this little girl. Can't be helped—guess I'll have the one who can't be reasoned with take a temporary exit."
"…Th-this is… damn it! Berserker—withdraw!"
Kariya seemed to come to his senses at last. Realizing he couldn't win here, and finally remembering that Tokiomi Tohsaka's Servant wouldn't harm her Master's daughter, he clenched his teeth and limped away.
From what he'd seen of her power, his Berserker alone couldn't defeat that Servant. In that case, he'd rely on their strength—he would make Tokiomi Tohsaka pay.
After Kariya left, Ophis looked again at the King of Conquerors who had barged into the battlefield.
"So what the hell are you doing?! We should've just let them fight it out and reaped the benefit!" Waver complained, slapping at the King of Conquerors—only to be cleanly ignored.
"Hahahaha. Good to see you again, little girl."
Iskandar turned back to Ophis, grinning wide.
"Since we've run into each other, it's perfect. I just met Saber—we've agreed to hold a banquet at their place. You seem to be a king as well, don't you? Well? Care to join us?"
...
The King of Conquerors left.
In the end, Ophis accepted his invitation. The "banquet" he described sounded interesting, and going to take a look was no great loss.
After everything that had happened, Ophis had already forgotten about the task Tokiomi had given her earlier.
"Ishta. Are you coming?"
Ophis glanced at Ishta, who stood beside her with her teeth clenched, and asked.
"Grrr…"
Ishta struggled for a long time, then finally let out a sigh.
"Fine, fine. By the time I 'awakened,' it was already too late—but I can't just drag this out forever because of that. That super-interesting banquet? You go ahead and attend it alone. I still need to completely settle the causality of 'me.'"
Even Ophis felt a flicker of surprise at that.
Ishta—who only ever acted on her own desires—was actually showing restraint?
"…It feels like you're thinking something unpleasant right now."
Ishta narrowed her eyes.
"Whatever. Just—stall as long as you can. I'll wrap things up here as fast as possible. Something that fun can't happen without me!"
So she was still the same after all…
Watching Ishta storm off in her Maanna, Ophis smiled softly, then dissolved into spirit form and vanished in the direction Iskandar had flown.
Next, she'd go see what this so-called banquet was really like.
---
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