How come the Ace of Cups isn't considered the Holy Grail?

The silver-armored knight, wearing a hood, strolled through the deserted streets of Akihabara, recklessly unleashing his aura, as if issuing an invitation to battle to any Servants around him whose very existence was unknown.

On the rooftop of a building some distance behind him, Aika Sajou used a telescopic magic technique to watch the figure leaping and bounding towards him from the distant rooftop.

"Hmm...it's about time we met up."

As soon as she finished speaking, the figure seemed to notice something, paused for a moment, and then quickly rushed towards Arthur's location. The deep red bow in his hand gleamed like a jewel in the moonlight.

"Hey! Young man! Judging from this aura, you must also be a Servant participating in this Holy Grail War, right?"

Crouching on the signboard on the exterior of the building next door, Arash pulled down his hood and greeted Arthur, who was empty-handed below.

"Let me see, Saber... or Rider?"

“Who knows?” Arthur also pulled down his hood, revealing his dazzling blond hair. “Maybe I’m Caster, who knows, Archer.”

"Oh my goodness, that's really something!"

Arash couldn't help but laugh out loud upon hearing this, and then immediately drew his bow and aimed at Arthur below, a playful smile curving his lips.

"Then you'd better watch out for my arrows, 'Caster'~"

Chapter 213 The Unsuccessful Battle

Arash was conducting his usual patrol around the base today, to prevent other Servants from finding their base without their knowledge.

Because she was defeated by Youdu yesterday and signed a self-mandatory contract, Elsa lost interest in drinking tonight and simply ordered two takeout meals to finish their dinner.

Therefore, Arash was the only one conducting the inspection this time.

At first, he thought he wouldn't encounter any hostile Servants today.

After all, although the commotion last night was quite significant, any Servant who noticed it and wanted to investigate should have arrived last night.

Now that a day has passed, whoever caused that commotion certainly won't stay here any longer. If they come to investigate now, they probably won't find a single hair.

Why would anyone waste time doing something that is destined to yield no results?

As he was thinking this, leaping between the rooftops of various buildings and using his excellent eyesight and senses to check for any hostile Servants around him, he suddenly noticed the presence of a Servant coming from a secluded street not far away.

The feeling was quite obvious. Although it wasn't as big as the commotion last night, it was still about the same as when you were walking down the street and suddenly heard someone say, "Everyone is looking at me..."

However, unlike the broadcast that can be heard by everyone, this is a situation that only they, as Servants, can discover.

Are you inviting me?

Considering that he hadn't found any other Servants along the way, Arash reasonably suspected that this unfamiliar Servant was definitely looking for him.

'Saber, Rider, and Berserker...which one could it be?'

Although he didn't know that Yudo had already dealt with Assassin, Arash subconsciously ruled him out.

It's hard to imagine that an Assassin, an assassin, would do something so ostentatious...

As for Rider... although he knew that the other party had allied with Yudo, the other party was not allied with him, so it was very possible that he would come looking for him.

Filled with wariness and doubt, Arash quickly found the servant who had invited him on the street.

The guy, empty-handed, actually said he might be a Caster?

Arash really had a hard time suppressing the urge to laugh.

Just kidding, how could he not know who Caster is, someone who just got beaten up yesterday?

Knowing that the other party wouldn't reveal any information about himself, Arash didn't waste any more words. He drew his bow, pulled back his arrow, and shot the sharp arrowhead at the unfamiliar Servant below.

Sudden!

The arrow pierced the air with a sharp whistling sound, breaking the tranquility of the night sky.

Faced with the attack coming from the darkness above, Arthur made a gesture as if he were holding something, and used that thing to block Arash's attack.

Clang!

The crisp sound of metal clashing did not escape Arash's ears.

One hand, and that pose... Is it an invisible weapon?

Could it really be Assassin?

As for the type of weapon... since it's wielded with one hand, a one-handed sword, a short spear, or, if you're strong enough, an axe or a greatsword are also possibilities.

Based on the information he had, Arash continued to fire several arrows as a test, but without exception, all of them were blocked by Arthur using his unidentifiable weapon.

Immediately, not wanting to continue taking the beating, Arthur crouched down, used his lower body strength to leap up, and rushed towards the billboard hanging above.

His actions were sudden, almost without warning, but Arash, who had just been beaten up by the elusive black magician yesterday, reacted easily, leaving the billboard and leaping onto the roof.

Arthur followed closely behind him, and the battle between the two shifted to the rooftop.

Akihabara at night is not a quiet place, but not every part of an area is as lively as the main street.

In a secluded place unknown to anyone, a Servant wielding an invisible sword is engaged in a battle that transcends the limitations of history and mythology with a Servant holding a crimson bow.

The swords were sharp and sturdy, and the arrows were pointed and pointed.

The two continued their fight, moving between the deserted buildings.

Arthur wanted to get close, but Arash, having learned his lesson, had been keeping a close eye on him from the very beginning. Whenever Arthur made any attempt to approach, he would be met with a barrage of arrows, determined to cut off any chance of the other getting close.

Through this period of probing and observing how the opponent blocked his arrows, Arash had roughly figured out the type of weapon the opponent was using.

"That weapon, it's a sword, isn't it? And it's probably an extraordinary sword closely related to your real name, young man. Am I right?"

"Is that so? Since that's what you think, then let's just say it is." Arthur didn't bother to argue; he simply lowered his body and rushed towards Arash, quickly closing in on him.

"That kind of misleading talk won't work on me~" The high-speed shooting stopped Arthur's charge, and Arash jumped back to another building to create distance between them, saying it as if it were a joke.

"But you're clearly a first-rank Saber, yet you lied to me and said you were Caster... You're really cunning, buddy~"

"Is that so?" Arthur, whose charge was stopped, did not panic. He skillfully and quickly swung the invisible sword in his hand to knock down the almost continuous string of arrows, and a hearty smile appeared on his face.

"But I only said I 'might' be Caster, how can you say I'm lying to you?"

Even knowing that the type of his weapon had been exposed, Arthur showed no intention of revealing it.

Arash was right; what he held in his hand was indeed the legendary sword of King Arthur, which he had taken from the Lady of the Lake after the sword in the stone broke.

Excalibur

That is the strongest fantasy, a sliver of starlight, a dream that transcends all time and space, a dream that all living beings have failed to realize.

For this reason, as soon as its golden blade is slightly revealed, it will immediately reveal the sword's true nature to those who see it, thus indirectly exposing its true name. Therefore, in this Holy Grail War, it is necessary to use the Wind King Barrier to hide it.

The two stood facing each other on the rooftops of their respective buildings.

Arthur would be stopped by Arash's arrows whenever he tried to get close, and Arthur would invariably block all of Arash's arrows.

After fighting for a long time, neither of them had suffered any injuries other than physical exhaustion.

Continuing to fight like this is not a solution, so Arash is considering whether to retreat, while Arthur is hesitating whether to rely on the explosive charge he can use to break the Wind King's barrier to get to Arash.

He was confident that he could decide the outcome of the battle as long as he could get close, but the effect of his opponent's Noble Phantasm was still unknown, and he might not be able to defeat his opponent here.

So... is it necessary to reveal your real name for this?

The two stared at each other silently.

In an instant, the silent night once again enveloped the surrounding streets.

Chapter 214 The Guardian of Eternal Love

"It's so quiet..."

Inside the Linglongguan family's mansion, You Du returned to the room he had occupied, opened the window, and sighed at the tranquil night.

Misaya Reirōkan, the Master, had already drifted off to sleep with a full belly of food, while the Dark Magician Girl was still in the living room, finishing off the remaining food with her bottomless appetite.

They ordered a bit too much. Misaya from Reirōkan couldn't finish it all, and Yuto herself stopped eating when she was almost done, so there was still a lot left to use as a late-night snack for the Black Magic Girl's vigil.

Silvery moonlight shone on the table in the dimly lit room. The room was dark and the lights were off. A series of materials, including a heart-shaped crystal, a hand mirror, and a small bottle containing the elixir of love, were arranged next to a soup pot with a two-colored vortex inside, each reflecting its own luster in the moonlight.

Unaware that Arash was fighting Arthur in Akihabara, Yuwatari returned to the table and sat down.

It's now late at night.

If he were to follow his normal routine, he would either be wandering around outside with Misaya Reirōkan, looking for a few lone Servants, or he would already be in bed, beginning a sleep activity that is completely unnecessary for Servants.

But he's had a good haul these past two days, and he's going to see what he can create from the materials he has on hand.

First, to save time, he threw the hand mirror he already had an idea for, along with a few dragon teeth and scales that he hadn't used up before, into the whirlpool.

He wanted to forge a [Dragon Mirror].

Dark Magician's Extra Deck also contains quite a few Dragon-Type monsters, and having a "Dragon's Mirror" for Graveyard Fusion is always more convenient.

However, he was worried that if he used Tiamat's spirit origin fragments, the concentration of dragon materials would be too high. If he ended up with a [Mirror Dragon] or something similar, he would just replace it with these dragon teeth and scales.

The materials were submerged in the vortex. You Du looked at the colors inside and felt that there should be enough dragon-related materials, so he turned his attention to the other materials on the table.

He put the [Vampire Crystal] away first. Although the head of the Linglong Pavilion had prepared a lot of materials, none of them were related to vampires, so the crystal would continue to gather dust.

The [Assassin-class Golden Statue] was left behind when Semiramis left during the Holy Grail War. It didn't seem to match the other materials on the table, so Yuuto put it aside.

So, for the rest... we should definitely start with these two!

You Du looked at the [Heart Crystal] and the small bottle of [Love Elixir].

Both of these materials are related to emotions. He wasn't quite sure about the emotions associated with the [Heart Crystal], but considering Brunhilde herself, who dropped it, he felt it might also be related to love.

"Mmm, love... love..."

When it comes to cards related to 'love', besides the melody of 'eating, playing ball, taking a bath, and sleeping' that comes to mind, Yuto also thinks of cards with the 'beloved' tagline.

【Winged Kuriboh LV6】, 【Beloved Hero】, 【Beloved Contact】, and 【Eternal Beloved】...

It really is still my eternal love!

You Du made a choice.

With no clue how to create "Super Polymerization," the effect of "Eternal Love," which can fuse the opponent's monsters with "Yubel," is practically a low-end version of "Super Polymerization."

The prerequisite is that he must create a [Yubel - Guardian of Eternal Love] card; otherwise, even if he can use the monsters on his opponent's field as fusion materials, he will not have a suitable monster to summon.

After all, [Yubel Phantom] can only be Special Summoned by returning [Yubel] from your hand, field, or Graveyard, along with one Fiend-Type monster with 0 ATK and 0 DEF, to your Deck or Extra Deck.

While [Elemental HERO Neosage] can be fused and summoned, however...

He can't expect his opponent to happen to be using [New Universe Knight], can he?

"Let's give it a try first." Yuuto decided to see if he could create a [Yubel - Guardian of Eternal Love] using the materials at hand.

His hand hesitated between the [Heart Crystal] and the [Potion of Love] on the table for a moment, and finally chose to pick up the [Heart Crystal].

This time, however, it is not used as the main ingredient.

"The characteristics of the dragons can be represented by the [Shard of Tiamat's Spirit Origin]. Using this as the main material, supplemented by the [Heart Crystal] formed from the emotion of love and the [Heart of the Primal], a material pointing to the demon race..."

"Considering that the fusion materials for [Yubel - Guardian of Eternal Love] are quite diverse, perhaps we should add more types of materials to it?"

After thinking for a moment, Yuto took out all sorts of materials at hand. It was only because the Linglongguan family was one of the top magic families in the Far East that they had such a large and powerful family; otherwise, it would have been difficult to find so many kinds of materials elsewhere.

The forging of the [Dragon Mirror] only took a dozen minutes. Yuuto took out the card, confirmed that the forged card was indeed the [Dragon Mirror], and then began to add the prepared materials to the pot one by one.

Besides the three materials that represent the basic elements of the card, Yudo only used a small amount of each of the other materials to ensure that while achieving the desired effect, the possibility of accidentally drawing other cards was minimized.

"You'll be busy from now on~" Seeing the vortex in the pot begin to become more distinct after he put all the ingredients in, Yudu knew that he must have succeeded.

He knows this process very well!

Recalling his experience of forging the [Ultimate Jewel Rainbow Dragon], Yuuto skillfully made the sign of the cross in his mind for the sleeping Misaya Reirōkan, praying that she wouldn't be directly drained into a dried-up corpse. Then, he used magic to guide the excess elements in the pot to extract the cards and maintain balance.

"【Murder Tomato】, 【Murder Potato】...tsk, should we really reduce the amount of those medicinal herbs?"

Looking at the cards that had been extracted, Yuuto muttered to himself.

The process of extracting the cards lasted for several hours. Fortunately, although it consumed a lot of magic power, it was a gradual process, which gave Misaya Reirōkan time to recover.

So she should be alright now... right?

During the forging process, billowing black smoke kept rising from the pot. After the forging was completed, all the smoke that had filled the room and did not drift outwards was drawn back in and condensed into the shape of a card.

You Du took the card out of the pot and found that the surface of the card was covered by a thin black film, making it impossible to see the contents.

"Your cards all have your own way of being revealed, right?" Yuuto muttered to himself, then carefully peeled off the thin film from the edge.