Thin trails of smoke drifted over the pier. Two silhouettes, one red and one blue, constantly intertwined, clashing to produce eye-searing sparks.
Ritsuka held a Demonic Blade, which was covered in blue magical energy.
She leaned back to dodge a sweep of the demonic spear and used a sliding tackle to evade to the side. Her right hand swung upward, cutting through the mercury Kayneth used for protection. The contact point emitted a strange, sizzling noise.
As they crossed paths, Ritsuka quickly steadied herself, turning to block a thrusting spear before using the momentum to retreat.
Rainwater seeped from the blade's edge, washing away the stained blood from the inside out. Pulling back a short distance again, Ritsuka slowed her offensive tempo for a moment.
"Divine Realm level..."
Ritsuka murmured.
Her opponent was strong. Although his practical combat experience wasn't outstanding, his reaction speed and other attributes were excellent after using the class card.
As a Spearman, a Lancer, he was undoubtedly qualified, possessing highly mature Divine Realm level techniques.
It could also be called God-reaching Martial Arts!
The fierce and sharp spear was full of killing intent; every thrust was driven by forward momentum. Its beast-like aggressiveness was startling. Even though she also possessed Divine Realm level martial arts, she couldn't help but feel impressed.
The Heroic Spirit on the opponent's class card must be one of the top-ranking individuals within the Lancer class.
Emiya Ritsuka also held Divine Realm level qualifications, but she only possessed God-reaching mastery in Archery. Her other skills weren't weak, but compared to the top experts in their respective fields, they could only be described as decent.
Perhaps her other skills could reach the Divine Realm level, but Ritsuka's current level of mastery was not yet enough to manifest that.
She relied entirely on the 'Nine Lives' ultimate technique to raise her upper limit.
After all, even if her inner self was replaced, she was still not Alcides... The key issue was that when she couldn't maintain a long distance, even if she could draw her bow at super-high speeds, she couldn't do anything to this opponent.
The opponent seemed to have a skill specifically designed to counter the Archer class. As long as he could see the ranged attack itself, he could successfully dodge it... Even supersonic arrows posed no threat.
"Not continuing?"
Kayneth rested the demonic spear on his shoulder, speaking playfully.
Even though he was slightly at a disadvantage during the fight, he wouldn't let his spirit falter. Moreover, he still had trump cards he hadn't used yet; the winner wouldn't be decided until the very end.
Ritsuka didn't bother to respond. Kayneth didn't get angry either; instead, he chose to take the initiative—
"Boil, my blood (Fervor, mei Sanguis)!"
"—Slash (Scalp)!"
The mercury covering half of Kayneth's body condensed into a blade and struck out immediately.
The sharp mercury blade hit empty air. Ritsuka, having retreated a few steps, projected another black short sword—one of the gan jiang and mo ye pair. She launched a counterattack using a dual-wielding style with one long and one short blade.
The long blade in her right hand was for the main attack, while the short blade in her left assisted in defense. The exchange between the two became increasingly intense.
Ritsuka, who was slightly shorter, erupted with power far more terrifying than Kayneth's. Each of her steps left a crater at least several meters in diameter. The long blade she swung was heavy and powerful, giving the illusion that the crimson spear might be forcibly snapped.
Magical energy condensed on the blade's edge, and divine energy wrapped around it to enhance the toughness of the projected weapon. The storm stirred up by the magical energy caused Ritsuka's long hair to flutter.
Kayneth leaped back and reset his stance, the corners of his mouth curling up as a light called excitement flashed in his eyes.
"Hahahaha..."
A burst of laughter escaped him involuntarily. Kayneth brandished the demonic spear, and the crimson spear shadows swept in like a gale. He went all out with a torrential offensive.
In less than a tenth of a second, the demonic spear and the twin blades collided, bounced off, and then collided again.
If their battle just now had been somewhat restrained, barely remaining within the human realm, then now, the two were clashing like frenzied war machines, fighting with the resolve to kill one another.
Streetlights, trees, and signboards on both sides of the street were destroyed and torn apart like fragile pieces of paper in the aftershocks of their exchange.
Light and shadows flickered; their speeds were similar, but Ritsuka had the upper hand in terms of strength. For a time, they were locked in a stalemate.
Spear shadows tore at flesh, and blade light pierced through muscle. The scales of battle began to tilt.
There was a gap between them in terms of physical stamina and defense!
As his body was being battered by the attacks, Kayneth, who was the first to show signs of being unable to hold out, roared loudly: "Aaargh... Taste my trump card!"
As his voice fell, a sense of malice, like thorns, enveloped Ritsuka's body.
The air froze, consumed by a tangible, violent killing intent.
The magical energy filling the atmosphere completely froze. Here, it seemed only one person was permitted to breathe. The crimson spear finally revealed the true sharpness belonging to a demonic spear.
Space was distorted, and a vortex of magical energy appeared on the crimson spear. Kayneth stepped forward.
"Pierce—Gáe Bolg!!"
The long blade blocked her front, but the spear shaft bent, easily bypassing the defense. This should have been impossible, but space itself had been warped.
At the critical moment, Ritsuka used her Mind's Eye to seize the opportunity. Her short blade met the spear tip and was shattered, black fragments scattering in the air.
Pfft—!!
Ritsuka jumped to the side, but her shoulder blade was cleanly pierced by the demonic spear. The strike intended to hit her heart missed.
She grabbed the spear shaft with her free left hand. Then, under Kayneth's wide-eyed gaze, she drew close. Enduring the demonic spear that had impaled her, she drove her long blade into Kayneth's chest.
The battle was over.
"Gwah—!"
Kayneth coughed up large amounts of blood, his body gradually losing strength as he leaned against Ritsuka.
The demonic spear dissipated. A crimson aura rose from Ritsuka's body, and her wounds completely healed. She withdrew the Demonic Blade while pushing Kayneth away.
Lying on the ground, Kayneth stared intently at the seemingly unharmed Emiya Ritsuka. "A beautiful decision... That spear strike, how did you dodge it?"
"I saw it."
Ritsuka didn't exactly dodge; she simply followed her intuition, combined with a bit of luck and visual prowess, to avoid being hit in a vital spot.
Perhaps it was a matter of luck?
Furthermore, this demonic spear Noble Phantasm had a major flaw: it wasn't much of a threat to beings who could continue to function even after their hearts were destroyed.
Like, for example—Heracles.
"Cough, cough... The Greek Demigod, Projection Magic that can replicate Noble Phantasms... Interesting."
The viscous liquid substance all vanished. The blonde Lemon-head turned into a doll, exactly like the hooded man, which was within Ritsuka's expectations.
Picking up the class card from the ground, she scanned the surrounding area, which had become unrecognizable during the battle... "Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, Berserker."
In the Holy Grail War, there were still two potential enemies who hadn't appeared: the True Archer and Saber. Both were bound to be extremely difficult characters to deal with.
She put the six cards into the crystal dice, deactivated her armaments, and slowly walked away from the pier.
She took out a pack of Pocky, casually dangled one from her lips, put on her hood, and applied suggestion magecraft to herself, hiding once more among the ordinary people.
PS: There are only a few chapters left until the end of this volume. Progress on the next volume is currently slow. It is tentatively set as 'Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?', a decision I made after much consideration.
After all, after fighting for her life, Ritsuka definitely needs to enter'Sage Mode' for a while.
Of course, if you have better suggestions, you can also mention them in the comments, and I will take them into account.