[FDJ] Chapter 7: Changes

During what was supposed to be the dawn hour, it was still pitch black in Fuyuki City. Yuki had been waiting for half an hour, but there was still no sign of Lancer returning.

The commotion could be heard from another direction: the sound of the buildings collapsing. Suzuki could not have misheard it; he was startled.

Shinji was also awakened by the commotion, still groggy from alcohol as he sat up from the sofa. "What's going on... Suzuki-kun! Lancer!"

Suzuki lit a candle, allowing the disoriented and confused individual to find him.

"I don't know. Maybe..."

"An earthquake...?"

Two of them looked at each other, and both worried about changes happening outside. Something significant must have happened last night. Suzuki's intuition told him that the loud noise of the collapsing building was not a natural disaster but an act of deliberate destruction.

Suddenly, Lancer burst in through the window. Glass and paper on the first floor were not obstacles. If Assassin had arrived last night, they would have entered in the same way and quickly killed the two defenseless individuals. Lancer didn't care that her Master still seemed half-asleep and approached a few steps closer to survey their residence, making sure they were safe and alive.

Lancer's golden snake-like eyes were as piercing as the candlelight in Suzuki's hand. At the moment, Lancer had a serious expression and an incompletely healed injury to her leg. "We need to leave immediately! The enemy will soon be patrolling this area."

"What the hell is going on? Can't you just tell me directly?" complained Shinji, but under the candlelight, he immediately ran back to his bedroom and grabbed his backpack.

Lancer didn't provide any further information. She observed Suzuki, who was startled by her sudden entrance until Shinji returned. "Rider, who was stationed at the bridge, reacted. A large number of soldiers under his control began to converge towards our location. It seems he doesn't know our exact position, only a rough direction."

"Does Rider have any additional allies?"

"I don't have time to play detective games with you. Human, be quiet and keep quiet when there's no need to speak," Lancer's serious and firm attitude urged Suzuki, who was also in a panic, to quickly pack his belongings and prepare to evacuate.

Just as the two finished packing, another building was destroyed, and the sound reached Suzuki's ears, still highly intimidating.

The direction indicated by Lancer is approximately southeast. Although there was a very small probability of them being flanked by the enemy, Lancer was in charge of reconnaissance, so they did not need to worry about such things.

"Lancer, where should we hide this time?" Shinji was accustomed to running away, but it was rare for them to have to escape before daylight. During the day, Fuyuki City was covered in a thick fog, like a cloudy day, quite different from the current pitch-black moment.

"Assassin has been eliminated, so we don't have to worry about being ambushed."

Lancer succinctly reassured her Master, even without concern for how shocking the new information might be to the two of them.

"What!? You killed Assassin during your patrol last night?" Shinji still remembered the surprise attacks they faced from Assassin at the harbor during the day. He had almost been killed by the cunning servant with a black skull face, and his servant had not detected the opponent at the time.

"Assassin, as a servant of the Assassin class, is relatively weak in various attributes and not suited for direct combat. Is it so suspicious that I defeated him, Master?"

"No, I just didn't expect that annoying servant to meet his end so quickly."

"It was about a month ago, wasn't it? Assassin was the second servant to be defeated at that time."

At each intersection, Lancer takes a few steps ahead to investigate the surrounding situation before signaling for the two to follow. The conversation between her and Shinji suddenly made Suzuki realize something.

"Assassin has already been eliminated once? Is it the same for Lancer? In the Holy Grail War that took place a month ago?"

Suzuki's statement naturally made Lancer feel uncomfortable, but she nodded and admitted to it. She had encountered Saber at that time and was outmatched in skills, so she was lost.

"And then, after the Holy Grail War ended and Saber obtained the Holy Grail, all the defeated servants were resurrected?"

Suzuki now had a rough understanding of the process of the Holy Grail War that took place in the city a month ago. According to their accounts, a winner had already been determined: Saber. But obviously, Saber rejected this outcome and initiated another Holy Grail War.

"What are you trying to say, human?"

"Suzuki-kun, let's reach a safe place first..."

Suzuki felt that he was getting closer to the secret hidden in this city, and all he needed to do was connect the clues he had obtained with some knowledge he had previously learned.

Taking Assassin and Lancer as examples, the Holy Grail resurrects all six defeated servants simultaneously to restart the Holy Grail War. However, Lancer showed no abnormalities, whereas Assassin was unable to use Noble Phantasms.

"Could it be that the Assassin we encountered was the remnants after being defeated for the second time? According to observations by Chaldea, there are exceptional cases where servants mysteriously 'resurrect' after being defeated. These exceptional servants become more aggressive and unable to use Noble Phantasms."

Shinji couldn't understand the concept of the "Shadow Servant" that Suzuki mentioned, but Lancer stopped her investigation and instead focused her gaze on this "encyclopedia." According to the information provided by Caster, Assassin had indeed been defeated once before; therefore, the Assassin they encountered had been defeated twice, and the kill before dawn was the third time. Caster, swearing by his magical expertise, assured her that the Assassin they had defeated together this time would never be able to resurrect.

Lancer had never heard of the term "Shadow Servant." However, Suzuki's reverse inference seemed to align with these facts, and she heard the words she was eager to hear.

"You're saying that Shadow Servants can't use Noble Phantasms? Is that true?"

Suzuki felt immense pressure from Lancer's serpent-like gaze, which did not allow him to think and answer her question again.

"Yes."

"Are there any special circumstances?"

"If the servant's Noble Phantasm is permanent or doesn't require releasing its true name to activate, they should still be able to use it. However, there will be a noticeable degradation in its power."

Suzuki's response perfectly met Lancers' needs. If she knew that the enemy's gun had no bullets, there was no need to be cautious and avoid it.

Lancer was confident that she could defeat an enemy who lacked a Noble Phantasm or whose Noble Phantasm had degraded. Rider, who has been inactive until now, took definite action after Assassin was defeated by Lancer and Caster. Rider sought the hidden Master, and Archer provided remote support with arrows when Assassin was forced to the riverside. These three servants had no previous communication or coordination, but their current actions showed remarkable synchrony, indicating that Rider had become similar to Assassin's.

Caster's speculation was correct. The Rider servant, who had been lurking on the bridge and became irrational, was also defeated twice and became more aggressive. According to Suzuki, after becoming a Shadow Servant, Noble Phantasms could not be used. If Suzuki's statement was correct, the current Rider was a weakened version and this time they had also dispatched their undead legion. Returning might now be a chance to break through Rider.

"Master, Suzuki's inference aligns with the results of my previous reconnaissance. If Rider truly cannot use Noble Phantasms or if they have degraded, I am confident in launching a surprise attack and defeating them."

Lancer changed her mind abruptly because she wanted the Holy Grail and couldn't pass up the opportunity to defeat the other Servants. She chose to ignore the risk of failure because she had already been defeated. Continuing to cautiously wait for the right moment has little significance in the devastated city of Fuyuki. The only nominal ally, Caster, showed little interest in the Holy Grail. After Assassin was killed by the dawn, Caster easily took up Archer's challenge and boldly crossed the river.

However, from another perspective, Caster should still engage in a chase with Archer. By attacking Rider directly without involving the undead legion, no other Servants would interfere. This opportunity cannot be overlooked.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean? Are we going back to attack Rider? Can we do it? And is this claim that Shadow Servants can't use Noble Phantasms reliable?" Shinji was unwilling to take risks. If he were alone and encountered multiple skeletal soldiers, he might have lost his life.

"After defeating Rider, we can head to the old city area."

Just with that sentence, Lancer silenced Shinji. Apart from escaping Fuyuki City, his second desire was to return to the old city area.

"What do you think, Master? Don't you think it's time for a counterattack?"

With the advantages of both intelligence and strength, Lancer was the true "leader" of this three-person team. The fact that she didn't resort to violence to "persuade" Shinji was already a peculiar exception. Moreover, the conditions that she proposed were enticing enough to reach Shinji's agreement.

"I understand. Lancer, let's immediately turn back and confront Rider, who holds the bridge in Fuyuki City!"

Suzuki seems to be a mere tool. When Lancer needed him, she would ask for his input, and when she did not need him, she would not pay him any attention. In Lancer's eyes, humans were categorized as "good to eat," "bad to eat," or "tolerable to look at," while Suzuki barely fell into the third category.

Lancer didn't need to convince Suzuki. Seeing the two of them heading towards the bridge, he had no choice but to hasten his steps to catch up. If he encountered skeletal soldiers on his own, he would be done. To survive, he relied on the Lancers' power.

Through his familiar, Caster, Cu Chulainn learned that Lancer and the two tag-along were turning back to challenge Rider. Cu Chulainn carefully considered the current situation. He hadn't caught up to Archer and was currently in the old city area. If he returns, he can sandwich Rider between himself and Lancer. Even if Archer intervened, there was a 70% chance that they could overpower Rider, who presumably could no longer use Noble Phantasms. Pursuing Archer was another option, but he did not want to venture deeper into the old city.

However, before he could set off, the demon riding a camel appeared behind him, and the camel's head lowered, almost nibbling on Caster's hair.

"Hey? Even the great demon of hell is captivated by my noble appearance. It hasn't even been 24 hours since we last met. You beautiful demon lady."

The traveler appearing behind Caster had no ill intentions; otherwise, she would have been able to decapitate this self-absorbed man when she revealed herself.

The camel let out a deep warning sound, showing strong hostility towards Caster.

"My camel despises you. If you want to win my favor, you must first convince my camel," the demon said leisurely, tugging the reins and calming her mount.

"I just wanted to ask you not to threaten the Servant guarding the Holy Grail in this city for the time being. You alone are no match for Alter-possessed swordsmen. If you push too hard, it might change the swordsman's mind, and that wouldn't be good."

"So, the winning Servant who destroyed this city becomes the guardian? Is she the righteous one?"

The demon riding on the camel sneered at the word "justice." "Justice? We do not care about the division between good and evil; we only care about the results. If both you and Lancer are defeated, this fragment will burn completely without any hindrance. But if you happen to win, without a solution to the fundamental problem, the result will still be the complete burning of the fragment. Currently, Saber manages the Holy Grail, barely maintaining the existence of this fragment. Until the true savior who can stop the disaster arrives, I think you should sit back and watch."

"But this city..."

"A mere city pales in comparison to the principles of humanity, like dust compared to the stars. Besides, there are less than 20 people left in this city, and they will soon follow the path set by fate."

As Caster turned around, he could no longer see the figure of the demon, appearing and disappearing mysteriously.

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