Night fell once again. Workers who had labored hard all day began returning to their homes, although of course, some unlucky corporate slaves were still working overtime.
Daylight had ended, and the night cast a veil over the world, meaning that some things that could not be done during the day could now begin.
The Holy Grail War officially began this night.
A very obvious dispersion of magical energy came from the harbor on the edge of Fuyuki City. It could be assumed that a Servant had released their aura there, making no attempt to conceal their massive magical fluctuations. They were using this method to declare war on all Servants participating in the Holy Grail War.
"Hmph. Caelus, take the weapon this King has bestowed upon you and go deal with those fools who dare to covet my treasures."
Gilgamesh did not head over immediately. Instead, he continued tasting the fine wine from his treasury, speaking to Caelus, who had been leaning against the wall in a daze ever since they returned.
Caelus's mind stopped its idle state and began functioning again. He nodded, and then his figure suddenly vanished.
At the docks, a handsome man with a seductive mole beneath his eye stood there, holding a cloth-wrapped weapon in each hand that appeared to be spears.
Judging by the shape of the opponent's weapons, he was most likely a Lancer.
This Lancer stood there waiting for a while. Then he saw two women approaching from not far away. One was dressed in a black suit and had blonde hair. Judging by her gait and the sharp battle aura emanating from her, she was likely a Servant.
The woman following behind her had long silver hair and appeared quite frail, seemingly possessing no combat ability. She was likely her master.
"After waiting all this time, are you the only ones who showed up? It seems everyone is being quite conservative on this first night."
Lancer remarked with such sentiment, then watched as the blonde woman in the black suit stepped forward. Her body was soon encased in armor.
"This piercing battle aura, and though the form is unclear, judging by your stance, it should be a longsword-type weapon. Could it be that you are Saber?"
"Who knows? Perhaps what I am holding only looks like a longsword, but is actually a warhammer or a battle-axe. One can never be sure, can they?"
"Hmph. Then let me see exactly what kind of weapon you are using."
The two sides soon became locked in a fierce struggle.
At the harbor, perched on a crane specifically used for loading and unloading cargo, Caelus sat cross-legged in his black coat. He held a book and used the old, faded quill to begin sketching the battle below.
He had used his remaining System Currency to purchase drawing techniques and the ability of rapid sketching from the system, all to handle combat scenes like this that were worth illustrating.
While drawing, Caelus spotted a man lying on a high point in the distance with a sniper rifle, and a woman on a far-off building observing the situation through binoculars.
There was also a rather eccentric-looking man with slicked-back blonde hair hiding inside a shipping container.
Finally, hiding at the very edge of the pier and watching the battle within the arena was Kariya, along with the fake Lancelot he had created using the power of Nihility.
"Lancer and Saber are fighting, Archer is spectating, Assassin and Berserker are both me. That just leaves Rider and Caster whose specific situations are unknown."
As for why Caelus was so certain that the woman with the invisible weapon was Saber?
It was not as if a Rider or a Magician would be engaging a Lancer in close-quarters combat. That would be complete chaos.
Caelus, lacking the memories of a transmigrator, was quite certain of this. Although it happened to be a lucky guess, in reality the powerhouses of any class in this world possessed a certain level of proficiency in melee combat, even the Magicians who appeared least suited for it.
Watching the intense battle below, Caelus stopped his sketching. He did not need to record the entire process perfectly. Capturing a few brilliant moments was enough. However, based on his own expert-level swordsmanship, the female Servant's skill with cold weapons seemed slightly superior to Lancer's. After all, even while disadvantaged in weapon length and quantity, she was still able to fight him to a draw.
During the battle, although the Servant using twin spears was highly skilled, he remained unable to break through her defense. This clearly made the master behind him anxious, who then used a form of sound-transmission magecraft to make his voice sound as if it were coming from all directions.
"Lancer. I permit you to use your Noble Phantasm. End this battle quickly."
Upon hearing his master's voice, Lancer swung his weapons to temporarily parry the swordswoman's attack. He then retreated some distance and unwound the cloth strips wrapped around his twin spears that served to seal and conceal their existence.
"Saber, you are a worthy opponent. You had best be careful from here on out."
The two clashed once more, but this time was clearly different. With the restrictions on his Noble Phantasm lifted, Lancer's combat style became noticeably sharper. At the same time, attacks that had previously been blocked by the swordswoman's armor now pierced through effortlessly under the strike of that red spear.
"I see. Does your Noble Phantasm actually possess the ability to pierce through armor woven from magical energy?"
Relying on her own strength, she temporarily forced Lancer back. Then, looking at her armor which showed no physical damage, the swordswoman realized that the opponent's attack had bypassed her defenses without resistance and struck her body.
"As long as you understand."
Lancer spoke with a faint, knowing smile.
The swordswoman then dispelled all the defensive armor on her body, revealing a simple, well-fitted long dress.
"Since the armor on my body can no longer provide defense, continuing to wear it will only serve as a shackle on my movements."
While such logic might be considered normal under ordinary circumstances, the swordswoman had clearly fallen into Lancer's trap.
The other spear, the yellow one, slashed the swordswoman's wrist. This time she discovered that the wound bled incessantly and showed no signs of recovery.
"Do not blame me for being underhanded, Saber."
Having successfully deceived her and wounded her wrist, making it impossible for her to use her longsword with both hands, Lancer felt the battle was essentially won. All that remained was to release the Noble Phantasm's True Name and end the fight cleanly.
The swordswoman also knew she was at a disadvantage, but she felt no anger at being deceived. In a battle to the death, one should use every means available. Deception was merely one of them.
She was now preparing to likewise release the power of the longsword in her hand to break through the current unfavorable situation.
Just as both sides prepared to fight with all their might, a massive roar of thunder suddenly echoed from the sky, mixed with human shouts and cries of distress.
With a thunderous crash from the heavens, a chariot drawn by bulls slammed into the center, separating Lancer and Saber.
"Rider."
A very delicate-looking young man sitting in the chariot shouted with a pale face. He complained that his Servant had taken him drag racing through the sky without any warning and had ignored his commands to intervene directly in the battle, even though they should have stayed hidden to reap the benefits afterward.
This Rider laughed heartily for a while. After briefly comforting his master, he actually proceeded to offer recruitment to the nearby Lancer and Saber.
This clearly drew dissatisfaction from both. One was a knight who already had a lord, and the other was a ruler herself. How could they possibly become the vassals of another?
Seeing his recruitment fail, this Rider did not feel dejected. Instead, he spread his arms in a gesture of embracing the world and shouted toward the surroundings.
"O heroes of all ages. I believe I am not the only King drawn here by this magnificent battle. And now, do you intend to continue hiding your heads and tails? Can such behavior truly be considered heroic? Or are you all just a pack of rats who only know how to hide in the shadows?"
Such blatantly mocking words immediately provoked strong dissatisfaction from a certain existence.
Accompanied by a scornful laugh, a man clad entirely in golden armor stood atop a lamppost.
And where was Caelus?
At this moment, he had already quietly crept behind Saber's master, preparing to strike first.
He was not some great hero who cared about reputation. Since his class was Assassin, was not the master right in front of him a much easier target than a difficult Heroic Spirit?
A sneak attack.
Once Caelus confirmed that everyone present was distracted by the sudden appearance of Gilgamesh, he drew his longsword without hesitation and lunged.
(To be continued.)