Chapter Forty-Six: Mutual Deception

My name is Illya.

Tohsaka and Kayneth are tearing each other's houses apart.

129:43:21

Lancer was locked in a bitter struggle—a fact even Waver could discern.

Two colossal, unwieldy golems, forged entirely from pink crystal, blocked the corridor front and rear, trapping the intruders who had broken into the Tohsaka residence.

The Gae Dearg could nullify all magical energy, but the power animating the golems originated from their core; to pierce it, one had to shatter a massive chunk of crystal on either the chest or the back. Yet, should one resort to that, there would be no further need for the red spear, as any minor spell could cause the construct to disintegrate.

The Gae Buidhe could prevent wounds from healing, but the golems shifting crystals from other parts of their bodies to cover and repair the damage was not considered "healing" at all...

Were it not for Lancer's mastery of the Mind's Eye, a superior skill immensely advantageous in close-quarters combat, he likely would have been defeated long ago.

As for his own teacher, he stood with his hands clasped behind his back, calmly observing the battle with the poised and confident air of someone holding absolute victory in his grasp. However, the numerous familiars being relentlessly batted about like shuttlecocks by the golems completely undermined his confident expression.

Teacher Kayneth specialized in spiritual evocation and alchemy; his familiars were fundamentally summoned spirits reinforced through alchemical arts. Yet, hastily summoned minor spirits, summoned temporarily rather than prepared long-term, were useless no matter how much they were reinforced. Waver watched silently as a mummy, its exterior reinforced with metal, was stomped flat by a golem with a single foot.

Crucially, these golems possessed an immense capacity to absorb magical attacks. Should someone carelessly hurl a flurry of spells at them, it could directly "fatten" them up to more than twice their original size.

Which begged the question: how on earth had Emiya Kiritsugu managed to breach their defense?

"Mr. Waver, answer me this: given the current conditions, how would one swiftly destroy these two crystal golems?" Kayneth, seemingly finding Waver entirely too idle, singled him out with a direct question.

"Uh... since our weapons are useless, why not make them fight each other?" Waver complained that his teacher was quizzing him at a time like this, while casually tossing out an answer.

"..." Yet Kayneth looked remarkably surprised. Could the idea actually be viable?

129:41:23

Clang! Crash!

"What on earth? What's going on with these Assassins?"

Though the Assassins had briefly slipped into the mansion undetected, Sola-Ui discovered them the moment they triggered the first magical trap, causing a considerable tremor.

Even though this mansion served merely as a temporary workshop and featured atrocious interior design, meticulous arrangement ensured a complete lack of protective barriers and traps. Situated in the safest control room, Sola-Ui activated and managed those mechanisms one by one.

Based on his analysis of Caster's strategy, Kayneth concluded that in this large-scale engagement, every single Servant and Master had their own battlefield; no one could possibly dispatch their opponent effortlessly and still afford to attack Sola-Ui. The only genuine concern was the myriad avatars of Assassin. Consequently, all the defensive adjustments he made to the mansion prior to departure were tailored specifically against large swaths of weak enemies.

Judging from the monitoring crystal balls where black figures flashed past at any given moment, the situation played right into his hands. Sola-Ui had indeed eradicated several Assassins using those magical traps and summon-triggering familiars, but plans invariably failed to keep pace with changing circumstances.

The Spike Trap was a magical trap designed with Luna's original form as a reference. It appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary rug or wall hanging, but the moment any entity defined as an enemy drew near, it would thrust forward like a hedgehog. The finest among them had already pierced three Assassins during this defense, yet it was also the first to fall in battle.

An individual vastly larger than the other Assassins had appeared. His massive frame and solid muscles made his volume appear more than three times that of the others. When the spike trap lunged at him, it produced a ringing sound akin to striking solid stone, and the next second, the entire trap was smashed to pieces by his fist.

The Piston Trap was another variety, usually deployed in narrow or elevated corridors disguised as walls. When an enemy approached, it would strike with lightning speed, designed to either crush the target flat against the terrain or knock them down from a height. Similarly, one of these traps, which had consecutively slain several Assassins, encountered its nemesis.

That particular Assassin possessed a slightly tall yet relatively normal physique, save for his exceptionally massive arms and fists. Sola-Ui recognized this fellow; he was the one who had driven back Iskandar and allowed Berserker to seize the-bull cart in the chaos. At this moment, not only did he halt the piston trap with those colossal fists, but he also tore the wall-disguised panel right off its mounts.

"This is ridiculous—" Sola-Ui slapped the desk in irritation. After all, there were only a handful of patterns for all these traps; these two fellows could tear through the majority of them simply by relying on their brutal physical might, leaving her to pray they would fail to locate the control room.

"Luna! Go out there and crush them!" In the end, Sola-Ui made the decision to take the initiative. Even if the Assassins ultimately failed to find her, when Kayneth returned to find utter devastation, what was she supposed to explain—that she had hidden away out of fear of combat?

Wouldn't that make him entirely too smug?

Although Luna's Noble Phantasm was not yet fully formed, using those two thick panels of unknown material to smack people around should present no problem at all.

"[As you command, my Queen.]" Luna rose, traversing the passageway—likewise dense with traps—and headed outside.

129:38:01

"Thump! Thump! Boom!"

On the top floor of the Tohsaka residence, the two massive crystal golems had just shattered. This pair of monsters, which Lancer and the familiars had struggled against to no avail, had traded blow for blow amid earthquake-like tremors before simultaneously collapsing and dissolving into fragments.

"You observe quite closely, Mr. Waver." Having surmounted the difficult obstacle, Kayneth was in high spirits, and Waver naturally refrained from asking when exactly he had been observant.

After Waver suggested making the crystal golems destroy each other, Kayneth—having approved the idea—instantly adjusted his strategy. He ordered the familiars and Lancer to simultaneously fight and retreat, ultimately leading the two stone giants close enough that they accidentally struck each other. The result was an endless, ferocious brawl between the two that completely ignored the three members of Kayneth's party.

"The reinforcement effects of any magical item have their limits. When you reinforce a golem's body to such a degree, the creator's mental control over them must be kept as simple as possible. I suspect the commands are limited to levels like 'guard this place' and 'attack anyone who approaches.' However, it appears they also retained a setting for 'infinite counterattack,'" Kayneth explained voluntarily, still in a good mood.

Infinite counterattack meant executing a single retaliatory strike against any target that harmed it, without any limit on the number of times. Such a setting was exceptionally well-suited for bulky, thick-skinned guards, but if they failed to reach their target while other enemies who had previously harmed them remained within range...

"Teacher, why do I feel like the reinforcement direction of these two crystal golems was tailored specifically for you and Lancer?" Waver glanced at Diarmuid, who continued scouting the path ahead. "Assuming Tohsaka Tokiomi anticipated our arrival all along, might there be even more targeted defenses ahead?"

"Hmph," Kayneth frowned.

During the previous battle at the warehouse, far too much intelligence had been leaked, so being targeted by the enemy was only natural. Yet, with the primary Servants of both factions absent, to deliberately target a Master like himself... could the reason be—?

"Lord, watch out!"

As they pushed open the door to the uppermost attic of the Tohsaka mansion, a pitch-black figure streaked past Lancer like lightning, lunging directly at the two Masters. Kayneth only had time to register that it was a short figure, much leaner than the other Assassins.

Clang—!

Lancer, quick to respond and sharp of eye, deflected the scimitar aimed at Waver's throat. Waver himself only began retreating in startled shock after the dust had settled.

Yet by then, the short Assassin who had just launched the ambush had vanished without a trace.

"Hmph!" Diarmuid, seemingly feeling his pride wounded, shoved the door open and charged inside.

"Heh~ Heaven has a path you refused to take, but to Hell you break down the door."

Seated in a chair in the center of the attic was a female Assassin clad in similar black tights and a white mask, draped in a layer of black gauze. Her voice sounded raspy and languid.

"Heh, you must be the main body behind those Assassin avatars. Death is at your doorstep, yet your tongue remains sharp." Kayneth stepped into the room in Lancer's wake, sweeping his gaze around to confirm the absence of further magical traps.

"…The main body?" Waver followed cautiously inside, appearing terrified of running into that short statured assailant again.

"Countless Assassin avatars have been running amok and attacking everywhere; such a feat cannot possibly come without a cost," Kayneth declared with confidence, pointing at the female Assassin. "Clearly, as the main body, she can neither dematerialize nor possess combat capability."

"Heh-heh-heh—" The female Assassin let out a cold laugh. "Daring to storm the enemy's stronghold with just a single Servant—who is truly at death's door remains to be seen."

As she spoke, black mist began churning incessantly around her. In the end, joined by the short figure from earlier, a total of ten Assassins appeared, surrounding the three of them in a tight circle.

"Remember, my name is 'Hundred Faces' Melty." A note of triumph colored the female Assassin's tone. "Makur, kill them."

"Understood, I'll remember it." Kayneth likewise sneered. "Lancer, release the True Name of your Noble Phantasm."

"What? Not the red or yellow spears?" A trace of panic crept into the tone of the woman claiming to be Hundred Faces.

"Piercing them through!" Lancer shouted. "[Gae Dearg! Gae Buidhe!]"

Accompanied by a blazing radiance of crimson and gold, Lancer's figure dissolved into a blur too fast to track. When he reappeared, all the Assassins had already been pierced, collapsed on the ground, and dissolved into spirit particles.

"This is impossible—" The female Assassin styling herself Hundred Faces met the exact same fate.

"Very well, this raid has essentially achieved its objective. Let us withdraw." Sensing the surroundings for a moment longer to ensure no Servant presence remained, Kayneth signaled Lancer and Waver to depart.

————

"This is truly a fine spectacle, heh."

Deep within the underground workshop of the Tohsaka mansion, inside a spell-bound chamber completely insulated from magical fluctuations, Kirei Kotomine—having lost his [Sympathy] due to the complete annihilation of all Assassins on the upper floors—gently stroked the sleeping Amir in his arms, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward.

This tactical deception, costing a full two Command Seals, should be considered a success.