302 Caster of Red

Arkhan gazed coldly at the figure on the clock tower, his pitch-black eyes revealing a frosty indifference.

"Caster of Red, Medea..." Arkhan calmly revealed the figure's true name. "No wonder the Red Faction could refine magical energy from the ley line; it turns out they summoned you."

"Just as Lancer said, you can see through a Servant's true name."

Medea looked down at Arkhan, her surroundings emitting astonishing magical energy fluctuations from her ethereal magic circles.

"But I didn't expect you're not a Heroic Spirit from this world. According to the original Holy Grail War system, the chance of summoning a Heroic Spirit from another world is almost negligible."

Arkhan narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Have you been here since just now?"

"Do you think I'm blind to the commotion you've caused in my territory?" Medea scoffed.

"From your words, it seems like you've been monitoring the entire city of Sighisoara from the beginning, huh..." Arkhan remarked.

"For a mage, this is just a basic skill."

Medea casually remarked, oblivious to how her statement would shame many mages if it got out.

Monitoring a city with tens of thousands of people was an unimaginable task for any mage. Even if the Clock Tower, which housed many great mages, were to undertake it, it would come at a great cost.

Yet, she not only completed it effortlessly alone but also appeared remarkably at ease.

However, as a renowned witch from Greek mythology, such feats were not surprising for her. In the original work, she even managed to set up an elaborate trap in the entire Fuyuki.

"Since that's the case, you must be well aware of Assassin of Black's recent activities." Arkhan continued.

Since Medea had been monitoring Sighisoara, Jack's actions couldn't have escaped her notice.

"Isn't that a matter of course?" Medea glanced at Jack bound by golden chains. "This little one thought she was seamlessly hidden, not realizing I knew everything, even where she was hiding."

Upon hearing this, Jack's eyes revealed a hint of panic. She wasn't worried about herself, but her mother was a different story.

"In other words, when that priest proposed cooperating with us to deal with Assassin of Black, it was just an excuse, right?" Kairi interjected suddenly. "You already knew Assassin of Black's location yet still allowed her to create a series of murders, watching her slaughter those mages."

He looked at Medea with an unprecedented coldness.

"Why did you do this?"

"Obviously, to draw the snake out of its hole."

It wasn't Medea who answered Kairi but Arkhan beside him.

"One Assassin alone couldn't satisfy their appetite. They want to lure out the real big fish, like Lancer of Black with his regional advantage, or perhaps..."

"Me."

*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!*

Medea applauded lightly and chuckled.

"Well, well, as expected from the legendary King Arthur. I didn't expect our plans to be so easily exposed by you."

Upon hearing Medea's acknowledgment, Kairi's expression turned grim.

As a necromancer, he had witnessed too much death and had become accustomed to it. The deaths of those mages, at most, evoked a sense of regret from him. What truly alarmed him was that their actions of ignoring their deaths undoubtedly meant they were ready to openly oppose the Mage's Association!

"Since your plan has succeeded, there's no need to beat around the bush." Arkhan's tone remained calm despite falling into the trap. "Bring out the rest."

There was a moment of silence before, accompanied by a crisp metallic clang, a figure emerged from the darkness.

White hair, handsome face, an unusually long spear, and radiant golden armor—the newcomer was none other than Lancer of Red, Karna.

Observing Karna's pristine golden armor, Arkhan squinted his eyes slightly. He distinctly remembered that during the last battle under Nidhogg's black flames, that golden armor should have suffered considerable damage.

Karna's golden armor, known as Kavacha, was a gift from his father, the Sun God Surya himself, imbued with a formidable defense that not even gods could penetrate. Though its power as a Noble Phantasm was slightly diminished compared to the original, it still rivaled the top-tier defensive Noble Phantasms, including Siegfried's Armor of Fafnir.

However, powerful Noble Phantasms came with a price. Repairing top-tier Noble Phantasms, like Karna's golden armor, wasn't a simple task. Despite its self-healing capability, it wouldn't have been restored to this extent in just two days.

'Is it because of Medea?'

Arkhan dismissed the thought as quickly as it appeared.

While Medea was indeed a powerful mage, repairing Noble Phantasms wasn't her forte. Moreover, without suitable materials, how could she restore the armor?

It seemed the Red Faction had other hidden cards up their sleeves.

Arkhan's eyes revealed a thoughtful expression.

"There should be others, right? Archer, Rider, Assassin, and Berserker? Bring them all out; relying on just the two of you won't get you anywhere."

"Hmph, watch out for the wind, it might make you lose your tongue." Medea sneered and abruptly waved her hand.

The magic circles surrounding her body targeted Arkhan, and soon, multiple magical beams quickly shot toward him.

"Don't think you're the only one who can use magecraft."

After saying that, Arkhan snapped his fingers, and several ancient green runic symbols, emitting an ancient aura, surrounded him. They transformed into thunderous flames, colliding with the incoming magical beams, creating a magical energy storm.

*BOOOM!* *BOOOM!* *BOOOM!*

"Rune?!" Medea's eyes betrayed a hint of surprise. Since when could a Rider-class use powerful magecraft like the legendary rune magecraft?

After a brief moment of astonishment, strong embarrassment surged within her heart. Using such means in front of her, a Caster, was nothing short of a direct challenge!

"Damn it, don't think you're the only one who can play dirty! Let me show you the real gap between us mages!"

Medea quickly opened her mouth, uttering obscure and hard-to-understand words.

It was the advanced magecraft language, known as high-speed divine words, usable only by mages from the Age of Gods. It significantly shortened the chanting time, a magecraft technique bordering on cheating.

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

With the help of high-speed divine words, magical beams comparable to great magecraft shot out like meteors toward Arkhan.

"Who said I only know rune?"

Arkhan spoke calmly, his eyes as tranquil as a still lake.