"Just by glancing twice, you were able to deduce that my Mystic Eyes are related to magecraft. Truly impressive."
Roy withdrew his gaze from the two Servants and focused on Bazett before him.
The battle between the Servants had reached a stalemate. It was possible that the outcome of this fight would fall upon the shoulders of the two Masters.
"Your strategy must be to not use magecraft in the face of my Mystic Eyes."
"But without using magecraft, how do you plan to win against me?"
Bazett wore a grave expression.
Her martial arts were indeed exceptional, and with the support of Runes, she even had the confidence to face a Servant.
However, if she couldn't use magecraft to enhance herself and relied solely on physical techniques, then she wouldn't even be able to break through Roy's Rune barrier.
In fact, the punch she just threw was blocked by Roy's Rune barrier.
'Judging from the reaction just now, he didn't even write by hand—it appeared automatically. It's probably a pre-set, automatic defense Rune.'
Bazett calmly analyzed in her mind.
'If it's a pre-set automatic Rune defense, it was likely written on paper or stone in advance. If that's the case, no matter how I attack, I won't be able to break his barrier, and he'll barely consume any magical energy.'
'Then there's only one method!'
Bazett made up her mind.
With one step and a duck, she circled around Roy and appeared behind him.
In that instant, her right fist struck repeatedly at the barrier behind him. Secretly, the Rune glove on her left fist began to glow, and with great force, she slammed her punch toward Roy's back!
The only condition for the Mystic Eyes to activate their power was to see the opponent and bring them into the user's field of vision.
If someone were blinded by a flashbang or their vision was blocked by smoke, and they couldn't see the user, then the Mystic Eyes would naturally be useless.
Bazett didn't carry a flashbang or smoke grenade. She didn't know imaginary pocket techniques, and carrying such items openly would only arouse suspicion. Using Runes to generate flash or smoke without a large number of Runes wouldn't fully block vision—and preparing a large number of Runes in front of Roy, whose Mystic Eyes likely involved magecraft, would be suicide.
So, she chose the simplest and most direct solution—flanking.
Even without Rune assistance, her movements were very quick, and her footwork extremely agile.
In contrast, Roy was an artificial human with a poor physique, who would be gasping for breath after running five hundred meters. His movements were far less agile than hers. Bazett had confidence that with continuous flanking, she could land a Rune-enhanced strike.
Boom!
With Rune augmentation, Bazett's left fist smashed into the Rune barrier.
The barrier lasted less than a second before being violently shattered.
The Rune paper Roy had hidden under his clothes only contained a small amount of magical energy. Without additional mana supply, it was like a rootless weed and couldn't withstand a powerful strike.
Bazett's blow landed, and a sharp glint flashed in her eyes. Her left fist followed up immediately, striking toward Roy's spine.
Thud!
But in the next moment, another Rune barrier emerged before Bazett's fist.
In that instant, Bazett's left fist lost momentum from the previous strike and hadn't regained strength. The punch only left a few cracks on the barrier without breaking it.
Bazett felt helpless. As expected, Roy had more than one pre-prepared Rune paper.
She immediately cut off the mana to the Rune on her glove, staying on guard for Roy possibly turning his head at any moment. She gave him no chance and planned to continue using flexible movement and strong strikes to wear him down.
"It's fine. Go on."
But unexpectedly, Roy didn't move at all.
"I won't turn around. You can attack me however you like. I won't even fight back."
His arrogant words entered Bazett's ears.
Bazett frowned.
Did he have that much confidence in his Mystic Eyes? So much that he believed she couldn't beat him even if he just stood still and let her attack?
But what happened next left Bazett dumbfounded.
One Rune after another emerged from around Roy, coiling around him like chains of light. Upon closer inspection, there were hundreds of Runes forming an indestructible barrier, protecting him from all directions.
"Go on, strike as you like!"
Roy's composed and leisurely voice rang out.
His tone was calm and collected, with no trace of panic, as if he was sure Bazett couldn't defeat him.
And in fact—
Looking at the hundreds of Rune barriers, Bazett felt a rare sense of powerlessness.
How could anyone draw so many Runes in such a short time?
No, it was impossible to draw them by hand—she hadn't seen Roy make such movements at all.
Could it be that his Mystic Eyes not only disrupted others' magecraft, but also enhanced his own?
How could such Mystic Eyes exist?!
In all of human history, there had never been Mystic Eyes like this!
With a barrier composed of hundreds of Runes, Bazett indeed couldn't break through.
Forget her—even Cu Chulainn would scratch his head if he saw it.
Without a Noble Phantasm-level attack, it would be impossible to break this defense!
Roy truly had bad compatibility against Bazett.
Against mages who relied solely on magecraft, he could decide the outcome in one glance.
But against Bazett, who focused on physical combat and only supplemented with magecraft, he had to put in real effort to win.
"What's wrong, not coming at me?"
Roy's voice rang out again, filled with what seemed like amusement.
"If you don't act soon, your Servant might be in danger."
Bazett's expression tightened.
Could it be—
She quickly turned her gaze toward the other battlefield.
Okita Souji had changed tactics, capitalizing on her agility. Her movements were like bullets, darting around Cu Chulainn, showing speed and grace no less than that of Heracles.
Her sword flashes wove a web, striking from all directions toward Cu Chulainn.
In contrast to Okita's graceful offense, Cu Chulainn wore a troubled expression.
As a Caster, though his spear techniques remained sharp, his base stats were weak—a fatal flaw. His speed was completely suppressed, and even the most skilled can't cook without ingredients. He could only rely on his powerful instincts and extensive combat experience to dodge and block Okita's relentless attacks.
He didn't even dare to glance at the Master-side battle—one moment of distraction and he might be done for.
Fortunately, he had prepared some Rune stones beforehand, allowing him to barely hold his own. But like Roy's Rune papers, the Rune stones could only block one of Okita's attacks at most. They couldn't withstand a second, and the more he used, the fewer remained. If the battle wasn't decided soon, things would get ugly.
Okita's gaze was deep as she locked eyes on Cu Chulainn.
Suddenly, she shifted direction, attacking from the right flank. Cu Chulainn retreated diagonally, drawing a Rune in the air with one hand.
But suddenly, he felt a wave of intense heat from behind.
Cu Chulainn's heart leapt into his throat.
"This is bad!"
***
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