Chapter 370

Chapter 370: Chapter 370

"Who are you?"

Caster instinctively tensed and tried to invoke High-Speed Divine Words for an immediate counterattack.

She had barely moved, however, when tearing pain erupted throughout her entire body. Her vision nearly went black on the spot.

Kiriya reacted quickly and used Yang Power: Everflowing Vitality to stabilize her injuries before she could simply die where she lay.

"Who exactly are you?"

Caster looked at him again, privately astonished as she felt the small yet extraordinarily pure stream of life force spreading through her body.

His healing ability was remarkable.

Even in the Age of Gods, someone capable of this level of treatment would have ranked among the finest healers.

Perhaps because Kiriya had saved her without hesitation, the edge in Caster’s voice softened considerably.

"My name is Kiriya. As you can see, I’m a Master."

Kiriya raised one hand, revealing the crimson Command Spells on its back.

"So? Interested in becoming my Servant?"

"Your Servant?"

Caster glanced toward Ryuu, who was still exchanging blows evenly with Lancer.

"You really need a Servant as weak as me? That girl over there is far stronger in direct combat."

"If we’re only talking about fighting ability, then yes, you’re pretty weak."

Caster’s chest tightened.

Before she could explode, Kiriya calmly continued.

"But you’re still a Magus from the Age of Gods. Your knowledge and the Magecraft you possess are nothing to underestimate. Both would be extremely useful to me."

"Heh. So it’s my knowledge you’re after."

Caster’s voice immediately turned cold again.

She had no fondness whatsoever for people who only wanted to exploit her.

The small amount of goodwill created by Kiriya’s healing vanished beneath a fresh wave of resentment.

"You know who I am and still dare ask me to become your Servant?"

Her lips curled mockingly.

"Aren’t you afraid of dying? I am the Witch of Betrayal, you know."

"Hahaha! It’s fine, it’s fine."

Kiriya’s reaction was so exaggerated and irritating that he looked almost like Gojo Satoru meeting Jogo for the first time.

"After all—"

He grinned.

"You’re too weak!"

Too weak.

Those two words repeated over and over inside Caster’s head.

Her eyes slowly reddened.

"You...!"

She almost erupted into a furious tirade, only to swallow the words at the last moment.

Fine.

Very well.

He thought she was weak?

He looked down on her?

Then sooner or later, she would teach this arrogant bastard exactly why people said that disaster came from careless words.

"Since you don’t mind, then I suppose I’ll be in your care, Master."

Caster forced a smile onto her face and deliberately sweetened her voice until the words almost dripped with honey.

Kiriya’s eyes lit up.

"Now that’s some premium tea. You deserve a reward!"

He immediately poured far more power into Yang Power: Everflowing Vitality.

A surge of pure life force swept through Caster’s body, causing broken bones and damaged organs to regenerate at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Mmm..."

Caster involuntarily closed her eyes as a soft sound escaped her lips.

The instant she realized what noise she had made, her face flushed bright red.

’I... I actually made a sound like that?’

She quickly stopped caring about the embarrassment, because the moment her contract with Kiriya was completed, an overwhelming torrent of magical energy surged into her body.

Her eyes flew open.

"How is this possible...?"

Caster stared at Kiriya in disbelief.

"This amount of magical energy..."

If her own reserves were a lake, then Kiriya’s were an ocean stretching beyond the horizon.

She went completely still, violet eyes widening while her mouth unconsciously formed a small circle.

Even during the Age of Gods, people possessing reserves of this magnitude had been exceedingly rare.

And yet someone like this had appeared in the modern era, when Mystery itself was in decline.

It was almost incomprehensible.

"You... are you really human?"

Caster’s expression became exceedingly complicated.

Was this man perhaps some kind of divine hybrid descended from a god?

Then another, far more practical problem occurred to her.

If she decided to stage a third performance of The Witch of Betrayal...

Could she actually escape from him afterward?

Caster fell silent.

Painful as it was to admit, Kiriya hadn’t exactly been lying.

Compared with the monster standing in front of her, she really was weak.

"A completely genuine human."

Kiriya smiled and patted the witch on the shoulder.

"Anyway, just like I said before, behave yourself and contribute your knowledge and abilities. Once I win this Holy Grail War, I’ll share the victory—and the Holy Grail—with you."

Then his smile became somewhat more dangerous.

"Of course, if you want to betray me, that’s fine too. I wouldn’t mind having a few extra rounds of entertainment."

If Caster had heard those words before sensing Kiriya’s magical reserves, she would have dismissed them as arrogant nonsense and continued doing whatever she pleased.

Now, however, they carried a very different weight.

The pressure of what she had just experienced made even her breathing pause for a moment.

"Hmph!"

Caster turned her head away with a cold snort.

She offered no argument.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!

Meanwhile, Ryuu and Lancer’s battle had rapidly intensified.

The crimson spear in Cú Chulainn’s hands moved like a venomous serpent, constantly striking from impossible angles with terrifying speed.

Ryuu refused to yield.

Her own movements grew faster and faster, while Aero Mana continuously increased her offensive power in proportion to her speed.

Before long, she was fighting Lancer on nearly equal footing.

"Hahahaha! Now this is a fight!"

Cú Chulainn laughed joyfully amid another violent clash.

He spun Gáe Bolg through his hands and grinned at Ryuu.

"If you’ve still got something hidden, bring it out! Let me see everything you’ve got!"

"As you wish."

Ryuu did not waste words.

Even while continuing their high-speed exchange, she began a concurrent chant.

"—O sky of the forest now long departed. Infinite stars embedded within the endless night..."

Lancer’s movements faltered for the briefest instant.

Ryuu’s Stardust Sword nearly carved through his shoulder before he twisted aside at the last possible moment.

He continued defending while staring at her in surprise.

"A chant?"

His grin widened.

"You’re using Magecraft in the middle of this? Or are you releasing a Noble Phantasm?"

As Ryuu’s chant continued, enormous amounts of magical energy gathered around her and condensed into countless brilliant green spheres suspended in the air.

"Luminous Wind!"

At her cry, the green lights descended like a torrential storm.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!

Continuous explosions tore through the night.

The entire forest shook violently, and the resulting shockwaves uprooted and hurled away countless trees.

When the barrage finally ended, a crater several hundred meters across had been blasted into the landscape.

"Well, damn."

At the bottom of the crater, Lancer wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead.

"That was one hell of an attack."

Ryuu’s eyes widened.

"It did nothing?"

"Lancer possesses a Skill called Protection from Arrows."

Kiriya’s voice came from nearby.

"Once he can visually perceive a projectile or ranged attack, he can evade it regardless of its trajectory. Against him, the most effective approach is close combat."

"Oh?"

Cú Chulainn glanced toward Kiriya.

"So you figured that out too. You know quite a lot, don’t you?"

He didn’t seem bothered in the slightest that one of his abilities had been exposed.

Instead, he looked back at Ryuu and grinned.

"He’s right. If you’ve got any powerful close-range techniques left, use them!"

By now, Cú Chulainn was clearly having too much fun to care about anything except seeing what else she could do.

"Then come."

Ryuu began chanting once more.

This time she activated Astraea Record, calling upon the Magic once wielded by her fallen companion Alise.

"Agaris Alvesynth."

Blazing flames wrapped around Ryuu’s arms, legs, and Stardust Sword.

Her speed rose sharply.

So did her close-combat power.

For the first time since their battle began, the smile on Lancer’s face stiffened slightly.

The pressure Ryuu was putting on him had suddenly increased severalfold.