[FDJ]Chapter 47: The Countermove

Suzuki couldn't discern the details of the battle between Atilla and Aetius, but after Lancer gave up on engaging with Jeanne, he saw Assassin being "consumed" by Atilla. The extraordinary sight exceeded his comprehension, causing Suzuki to experience a throbbing headache. The surroundings became chaotic in his eyes, and a sense of crisis quickly overwhelmed him. Breathing became difficult, immediately dispelling any thoughts of approaching the front.

He fell to his knees, one hand clutching his chest and the other grasping his hair, enduring the flaws in his physical design. His magic circuits activated temporarily, deciphering the incomprehensible sight. The conclusion was directly imprinted in Suzuki's mind, erasing insignificant memories as the price.

The person who designed the entire set of magic circuits never considered the damage this ability would inflict on the body or how long a body designed like this could function. They simply pursued optimization and designed the "Analysis" attribute of the magic circuits.

"Master!" Jeanne realized that her Master had suffered a mental shock and used holy arts to soothe Suzuki's spirit. "Are you alright, Master?"

Jeanne also witnessed the scene of Atilla devouring Assassin, but she didn't have the same abnormal reaction as Suzuki. She was merely surprised by the outcome, a reaction that an ordinary person would have as well.

"I'm fine..." Suzuki managed to recover after a while, supported by Jeanne. It was only then that he noticed that during his detached consciousness, Aetius had been attacked by Lancer. Although he seemed unharmed, black flames scattered around Aetius.

Amid the crisis, Aetius quickly used magecraft, skillfully evading the sword light unleashed by Atilla and moving to a location far away from everyone else. He was now on high alert against everyone.

Suzuki became aware of the reason why Atilla could absorb Assassin. The Holy Grail was inside Atilla's body, and she had somehow reversed the activation of the Holy Grail, instantly decomposing and absorbing the already injured Assassin. They had to be extremely cautious of Atilla now!

Things were far from being as simple as Suzuki had imagined.

"Lancer, your Master is still in my hands. I can have Caster kill him at any time!"

"Then go ahead."

Lancer showed no concern for Aetius's threat. A puppet used to divert attention was indeed nothing to worry about.

"Is that so? I am well aware that the one in the camp is just a puppet. But don't think that I can't do anything to him just because he's hiding. Traitor!" Aetius had prepared countermeasures against Lancer, as well as against all the Masters and Servants in their faction. For example, he had placed a mark on Rider's Master, ready to subdue him at any time. Despite knowing that the magus puppet "Seld" who accompanied Lancer was nothing more than a puppet, Aetius had ways to directly threaten the real person.

The magecraft was interconnected, and among his treasured Mystic Code, Aetius happened to have a spell blade that could trace the caster. Aetius didn't want to further reduce their number of Servants so directly, but he had just experienced Lancer's black flames firsthand, clearly indicating that the Lancer faction had completely betrayed them.

Using the connection of the spell, Aetius gave orders to Caster, who was busy evading Archer's pursuit. His Servant had been observing the puppet magus who dared not approach during the battle with Archer, so Caster immediately concluded that it was Lancer who had betrayed them. The warning from Saber Gilles de Rais took a turn for the worst.

It was easy for a Servant to "kill" a puppet. While Archer was on guard against a new wave of bombs, Caster quickly approached the fleeing puppet. With a wicked smile, he drew the dagger that Aetius had given him in advance and stabbed it into the puppet's torso, shattering it. Caster used his curse ability to enhance the curse on the dagger. Magecraft often had various uses and could facilitate many things for humans, but when faced with a genius who had a profound understanding of magecraft, this convenience ended up favoring the latter.

Aetius soon received news of Caster's success. He concluded that a mere rural magus like Seld would never have anticipated his reverse tracking Mystic Code. A noble and orthodox magus like him didn't need to play a cat-and-mouse game with someone who was hiding and sneaking around. As long as that person hadn't escaped to a different dimension, they would inevitably suffer the curse of devouring magic power and endure excruciating pain. As for the question of where exactly the person was hiding, Aetius could wait until after this Holy Grail War to figure it out.

Suzuki didn't know what method Aetius had to target Lancer's Master, but he had a vague feeling that it wouldn't be effective. The Lancer appearing in this Holy Grail War didn't seem quite right.

A few seconds later, Lancer slightly furrowed her brow, appearing as if everything was normal.

Aetius was taken aback. He only had Caster and the uncertain loyalty of Saber Gilles de Rais on his side. Facing the siege of multiple Servants and Attila, the situation was highly unfavorable for him.

"What's going on? Does your Master have a way to resist curses? Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Each of the Mystic Codes that Aetius had prepared for his Servants was of high quality, infused with mythical elements. It seemed like a waste to use them against mediocre magus.

Lancer couldn't help but laugh when she saw Aetius's horrified expression. "You've made another fallacious mistake. The Servant needs a Master to exist and be forced to withdraw after the Master is killed. As for your curse, it may be effective against humans, but against Servants... do you think it's useful?"

The previously indifferent Lancer now had a terrifying smile, one that couldn't be associated with the Valkyrie from Norse mythology. She seemed more like a sinister and malevolent creature exposing her true nature, no longer interested in playing the role of an icy beauty now that all her objectives had been achieved.

Brynhildr's intention couldn't be clearer. From the beginning, there was no magus named "Seld" coming from Meis. The puppet wasn't a mere decoy but an actual superfluous entity. Brynhildr deliberately released the deception to conceal the truth that she didn't have a Master. The purpose was to make Aetius and the others believe that the real Master was hiding somewhere.

"Servants don't need a Master? That's impossible!" Aetius felt that his deeply held magical theories were under serious assault today. He had dedicated at least 45 years of his 50-year life to the study of magecraft, including research related to the Holy Grail. Although it was his first time participating in the Holy Grail War, his understanding of it shouldn't be much worse than Suzuki's.

"Do you know where Attila the King's Holy Grail came from?" Brynhildr finished speaking and glanced at the equally shocked Suzuki. "Can that young magus from the future guess?"

Was the Holy Grail given to Attila by Brynhildr? That was Suzuki's initial reaction, but he couldn't believe the conclusion that wouldn't be reached through normal reasoning.

"I obtained the Holy Grail in Meis, but at that time, I didn't think about why it would manifest itself voluntarily in the plundered city," Attila said as she continued to approach Aetius' position. "After I obtained it, I also studied it. I've always been puzzled as to why the Holy Grail seemed to have been opened once before and had some of its magical power taken away. But it also made it convenient for me to use the power of the Holy Grail. Aetius, do you have any hidden escape tricks?"

Attila didn't seem like she wanted to let Aetius go. On the contrary, she seemed determined to forcefully stop Aetius, who had a means of escape.

"Of course I do." Aetius shrugged and didn't care about Saber Gilles de Rais, who still had value to be exploited. He pointed his finger at the back of his other hand, where three command seals were still visible.

Before he could finish speaking, Attila swiftly closed in, swinging her iridescent stone sword toward Aetius' wrist. She was even faster than before, perhaps gaining additional enhancements from absorbing Servants.

However, the sword inexplicably changed its angle, narrowly missing Aetius' hand. He used up one command seal and forcibly summoned himself back.

Attila didn't actively change the direction of her sword swing earlier. It was just that as she swung the blade, she unnaturally felt the interference of magic. The reason behind it was the necklace that wasn't fastened around her neck. Attila couldn't discern the endless variety of magecraft that Aetius possessed.

Suzuki had a slight understanding of the reason. Although he wasn't skilled in high-level magecraft, he relied on his memory to recall that it was a type of magecraft related to the concept of "gifts," a rare category that used valuable items to interfere with the judgment of the recipient. Magical categories and effects were diverse, and while the magecraft of the future had declined to the point where traces could only be found in books, practical magic still existed a thousand years ago.

Attila angrily stomped on the spot where Aetius had disappeared, and her anger slowly faded from her face.

On the other side, Saber Gilles de Rais and Berserker kept a wary eye on each other after Aetius's retreat. Especially after Attila devoured Assassin, they both approached the position of Jeanne. Berserker was particularly cautious of Attila, who could decompose Servants. Saber Gilles de Rais was more concerned about the safety of Jeanne. He had formed a new conjecture about Lancer, combining his understanding of black magecraft. The process of Lancer's group concocting the potion last night was undoubtedly a form of black magic ritual. Combined with the latest information he had received—Lancer had no Master.

The result was evident. Brynhildr possessed a certain level of black magic ability. He didn't doubt his bold conjecture, even though black magic and Norse Valkyries had no apparent connection.

Lancer took the initiative to stop Saber Gilles de Rais. After all, it was obvious that they had become enemies. "Aren't you going to escape with your side's commander?"

Saber Gilles de Rais did not answer Brynhildr. Looking at the current situation, as a single Servant facing three other Servants and Attila, who could escape at any moment, he had almost lost his chances.

Berserker and Jeanne joined forces, and together with Suzuki, they confronted Attila, who held the Holy Grail and had essentially repelled two Servants.

"Suzuki Yuki, earlier I was merely hinting that I possess the Holy Grail. It seems you didn't catch my implication. Now, let me ask you, do you still wish to cooperate with me?"

Attila intentionally asked this, as she believed that someone from the future claiming to protect historical correctness would undoubtedly view her actions of altering history as hostile. She hoped that by taking a conciliatory approach, she could reduce conflict and ideally make Suzuki change his stance. Attila had a good impression of Suzuki and didn't want to resort to violence against him.

"If your actions will affect the World Order, I will stop you," Suzuki replied firmly. He seemed determined to fight to uphold the World Order, without considering the balancing of human interests. With Jeanne by his side, he had the means to confront Attila as an enemy.

Similarly, Jeanne rejected Attila's invitation. She felt the evil aura emanating from Brynhildr and believed that Attila, who had allied with Brynhildr, could bring true disaster to this era.