It wasn't just Waver and Fujino who were in an awkward state; even Lorelei Bartholoi and Shinji from afar seed to be in a similar situation.
"...Has Miss Kirie always been like this?"
Lorelei asked.
Five years ago, she had once tead up with the girls around Shinji, and Kirie had been just as excitable then. At the ti, Lorelei thought it was Kirie's first battle and that her excitent was due to nerves. But five years later, it was still the sa.
"Ah, yeah, she's always been like that," Shinji said, nodding helplessly.
After all these years of developnt, especially after obtaining Katou, Touko's doll technology had improved significantly. If one disregarded factors like intelligence or cost and focused purely on combat power, her creations could even rival Phantasmal Species.
The final product was the Gundam Freedom, officially designated "Touko X10A," which served as Kirie's dual existence vessel. Watching it take down one Thunder Bull and keep pace with the other showed just how superior its performance was.
However, because Kirie would enter a Chunibyo mode, full of hot-blooded excitent, the mont she started fighting, Shinji had to keep her in reserve. It wasn't until Scathach was injured that Shinji decided to bring Kirie and Fujino along, just in case.
As it turned out, the just-in-case situation had been handled, but Kirie had also entered her middle-schooler syndro mode.
"It's my fault. I should've never introduced her to otaku culture; now she's even more obsessed than I am. But, even though she's a bit Chunibyo, she helped out. Without her, I might've lost. Right, Lorelei?"
The mont Lorelei realized the situation, her expression changed drastically.
"No! Saber, fall back!"
But it was too late. Shinji grabbed Altera's wrist and slamd her to the ground.
It turned out that Lorelei's distraction had caused a slight break in Shinji's otherwise tight rhythm of attack and defense. Altera, who had been struggling under pressure, didn't hesitate and imdiately exploited the opening, launching a strike.
However, the opening was one that Shinji had deliberately left. While Altera's sword managed to cut Shinji's arm, it also gave him the chance to pull her into his embrace.
And so—he perford a Suplex of the Girl in My Arms.
A double knockout? From the injuries, it seed so—but only if you didn't account for Altera's sharp combat intuition.
Shinji, however, possessed the power of True Ancestor's Blood, granting him self-healing abilities akin to a Dead Apostle. Altera had no such regeneration. As ti passed, the situation beca increasingly dire for her.
On Scathach's side, though she was on the defensive, her stance was incredibly stable. She didn't seek to overextend herself or take unnecessary risks, giving Lorelei no openings to exploit. It was like watching a diligent farr, working day after day, just waiting for the inevitable harvest.
This was the difference in experience—this was the gap between instinctive fighters and technical ones. And it was this gap that tipped the scales decisively.
"It's about ti to finish this."
Shinji injected magical energy into the spear in his hand. The crimson color on the spear shaft seed to co alive, flowing like blood, or perhaps burning like fire.
"Not good!"
At the edge of the battlefield, Faker's face turned pale as she saw this, anxiously urging the group of young people beside her.
"Go help, now."
"Uh..."
"Well..."
"But..."
"The professor and the instructor..."
Svin, Gray, and the others who had arrived later with Lorelei looked at each other, unsure of what to do. In their eyes, both Waver and Shinji were on their side, and Waver had specifically told them not to act rashly without his permission. Indeed, while these guys were troublemakers, they were reliable when things got serious.
"Hurry! If you don't go now, it'll be too late! That guy is the enemy now—don't forget where you stand."
Faker, guessing their thoughts, struggled to weave a spell. However, every ti she tried to invoke magecraft, her connection to the Great Source beca strangely difficult. She didn't know what kind of trick Roa had pulled with that last attack.
In her current state, she couldn't even fulfill her duty as the King's Shield. If that weren't the case, she wouldn't have had to watch from the sidelines while carrying her severe injuries. All she could do was ask these students to intervene.
The sharpest of them, Flat Escardos, slapped his cheeks hard and said, "Let's do it!"
"But that guy's able to suppress both a Servant and Lord Bartholoi!"
Caules instinctively protested, being the weakest of the bunch.
"But we're not without help on our side, and there are four of us. Think about it—we've been beaten by him plenty of tis. Don't you want to hit him back for once?"
"I've never been beaten."
"That's because you haven't been here long enough. Gray, Le Chien, what do you think?"
Hearing Flat's suggestion, Svin first grumbled, "Don't call Le Chien," but then nodded.
"Let's do it. Worst case, we get knocked out again—we're used to it. Gray, you coming too?"
Gray didn't respond directly. Instead, she patted her cloak where Add was concealed.
"Add?"
"Huh? What's up?"
Add's lazy tone made Gray worry. Ever since they arrived in Fuyuki, his attitude had been strange. Not only had his snarky comnts beco fewer, but he had also been talking less overall.
"Are you okay, Add?"
"I'm fine. What could be wrong? You're asking if we should beat that guy up, right? Do it! Beat him to a pulp! Don't hold back! I've always found him annoying."
"I suggest you don't do that."
A woman's voice suddenly interrupted, familiar and accompanied by the faint scent of cigarettes.
Everyone turned to see a woman with orange hair wearing an orange coat, a cigarette between her lips, standing at the boundary between light and shadow. Behind her stood a woman in a kimono, as well as a pair of red-haired teenagers.
"...Touko Aozaki!!!"
Flat exclaid dramatically, while Svin and Gray tensed, ready for battle.
The na alone brought back mories of the Iselma incident. This legendary woman had left a deep impression on them by effortlessly subduing all three of them, plus Reines. In their minds, she was in the sa league as Shinji—a terrifyingly powerful figure.
"There's no need to be so tense. I'm just here to collect data on my latest doll model and to visit so old friends. As long as you don't cause trouble, I won't do anything to you."
Touko's words weren't a bluff. After the Iselma incident, she returned to Fuyuki, and it was during this ti that she built the Gundam Freedom for Kirie. She had only just finished it before the Holy Grail War started. Learning that Shiki Ryougi was in danger, she rushed over like the wind.
"—Hmm, that's quite an interesting poison you've been hit with. If you don't mind, would you let take a closer look?"
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