Saberfes!

Chapter 190

Chapter 190

Illya opened her eyes, the shimmering of her hair fading as it stopped hovering, reverting to normal.

"They've stopped fighting and are coming over. Saber, Berserker, take positions at the entrance. Caster, stay next to me and the Masters."

As Saber and Berserker approached the gaping hole that had replaced the doorway, a lone figure made its way out of the cover of the forest, slowly striding through the thin layer of snow with her hands up in the air. The jersey was no longer stained with blood or sporting tears, but there was an obvious limp to her step.

"I'm only here to talk, not to fight."

The two refused to lower their swords, though unlike Saber, Berserker was more willing to chat with her opponent.

"Got beaten up, Ecchan?"

The familiar tone was somewhat offset by the red lightsaber pointed at Assassin, but she still couldn't help a tinge of red reaching her cheeks.

"It's just a scratch, nothing much."

The pale white ahoge wagged from side to side on Berserker's head, while it's golden counterpart drooped sulkily.

"Are you here to hand over your terms of surrender?"

Illya's words cut short their conversation, a bird familiar floating besides her, linked with Caster to monitor Archer.

"No, I'm here to offer a truce."

"A truce? I don't need one."

She already had 3 Servants under her command, each and every one of them excellent representatives of their class. If she wanted to, she could easily challenge the magi and win without a scratch, or so she believed.

The childish tone of hers belied a growing malice as her fine white brows slanted, the glint in her crimson eyes turning sharp.

Sensing her imminent demise, Assassin hurriedly pressed forward.

"The Holy Grail has been compromised, corrupting its functions, so it's better for us to stay out of conflict with each other and figure out how to deal with it first."

"The Holy Grail? How could something like that be defective? It was the magnum opus of the Einzbern, Tohsaka and Makiri. Even if an outside magus tried to influence it, it still would have taken years of research before they were able to make any meaningful changes."

"If you need proof, just look at us Servants."

That gave the young girl a pause, as her eyes went between the three near identical faces among the radically different classes.

"...It could be just coincidence. Archer is normal after all."

The corners of her lips twitched, but Assassin managed to resist the urge to scrunch up her face upon hearing 'normal' and 'Archer' in the same sentence.

"What about Avenger and Ruler? As the Einzbern Master, you should know more than anyone that somethings wrong with it."

Contrary to her expectations, Illya seemed less shaken than Tohsaka had been, despite having higher stakes in it than the twin-tailed magus.

"Heeeh, I still don't think it's reason enough to have a truce. It would be easier to kill you all then deal with it myself, wouldn't you agree?"

The sweat pooling on Assassin's head was starting to fall, drawing a path along her jawline. On the ridge, Archer hefted another bolt onto his bow, nocking the spiked projectile and charging it as he zeroed in on his target.

"If they don't want to fight, then isn't fine to just let them be? It'll save trouble for you too."

All eyes turned to the boy standing behind Illya, a face of pure innocence as he extended a much needed olive branch to Assassin.

"You're forgetting your place."

Immediately, his lips locked up, muscles stiffening as his entire body went rigid, forcing him to stand ramrod straight.

His words have wisdom. We have other parties to worry about as well. If the magi can deal with them, all the better.

Berserker's words in her head resonated, and Illya let out a sigh after giving a moment of thought to their words.

"We can arrange a truce, but on the condition that one of the Master's stay here at all times. Alone."

A hostage? Assassin blinked, how the hell that was going to work. If anything went wrong, they would be one Servant down. It wasn't up to her to decide though, so she waited for Grey to relay the decision of El-Melloi and the rest.

Illya waited as Assassin stood there, zoned out in front of two Servants brandishing swords. After a minute, she refocused on Illya and delivered the reply.

"We will send the Tohsaka Master over. Is that fine with you?"

"All right. Tell her to come arrive by dawn, or the truce is off. Now, aussteigen."

Keeping her eyes on the three, Assassin slowly backed into the treeline, then turned around and made a beeline for the forest boundary. Saber narrowed her eyes at the distance hillside, seeing a brief glint of metal flicker under the moonlight, then disappear into thin air as the white shock of hair accompanying it faded away.

At the table, El-Melloi stared at Rin.

"You're sure about this then?"

His fingers twitched towards the cigarettes in his pockets, but he kept them grounded on the table as Rin stood up from the table.

"It's more convenient this way. Archer's Independent Action will allow for a greater maneuverability than Assassin."

El-Melloi called out to her before she reached the door.

"Hang on. We have something to give you."

He handed her a mobile phone. She stared down at it, the left eyebrow twitching slightly.

"This will-"

"Um, I'm sorry, but I'm not really good with technology. If I have to contact you, I'll just do it traditionally."

Slightly miffed by her prompt rejection, he was about to rebut when Flat chipped in from the side.

"Oh, in that case here's a Mystic Code you can use."

Saying so, he pulled out a ball marked with geometric symbols from his pocket, lightly chucking it at Rin, who easily caught the item.

"Just press these two buttons and it'll bring up the contact list. Click it again to call us."

Dubiously, Rin held the ball and tried it.

The air in front of her face was instantly replaced by a blue square, with names listed in a row from top to bottom. She wasn't the top student of the school for nothing, easily comprehending the English words as she skimmed through them quickly.

"Thanks. I'll be going then."

Without giving El-Melloi another chance to convince her, she grabbed the thick red blazer hanging on the coat hook, her black skirt swaying as she opened the door and left.

As she called Archer to pick her up, she abruptly realized there was extra weight in her coat pockets. Fishing around, she pulled out the culprits.

It was a cellphone, along with a small note and a pouch that made clicking noises when she shook it.

Just to be safe~!

Wondering how on earth Flat had gotten them in her pocket without her noticing, she opened the pouch.

The contents reflected in her eyes, turning it into a kaleidoscope as they glittered.

The corners of her mouth lifted into a small grin as she closed the pouch and waited for Archer. She may be alone there, but that didn't mean she would be defenseless.