The environment changed; heaven and earth fell into chaos. Everything in the surroundings was no longer as it had been seen before. Everyone present felt as if they had entered a world akin to an "abstract painting."
"A Reality Marble?"
Someone recognized the phenomenon capable of turning the scenery upside down and spoke up.
A Reality Marble—rated as the Grand Magecraft closest to "Magic," and even classified as a "Forbidden Spill" by the Mage's Association.
A magecraft that manifested one's inner landscape. Once activated, it eroded the "Real World," dragging everything nearby into the user's own "World."
Since it was formed from the caster's inner self, it was inherently tied to their personal experiences.
Undoubtedly, those capable of using a "Reality Marble" were all special individuals.
"But... that ugly appearance is truly unbearable to look at."
"A clown in a play..."
"How pathetic."
Uneven ground, unfamiliar streets, thick fog spreading everywhere... and reflected in their eyes was a massive and "abstract" entity.
Riding a grotesque black-and-white horse, wearing a dress of red clips and colors, but the head at the top was exactly like a candle, even burning with a flame. In its hand, it held a massive spear.
Ophelia (The Wu-Dan Witch)!
It was a creature completely beyond comprehension.
"This is bad!"
Waver supported Lelouch, sweating coldly. Before he could even step out of range, he had been dragged into this "World."
With Lelouch currently injured and his Knightmare Frame lost, they were in extreme danger.
"Familiars?!"
Seeing pitch-black demonic shadows emerging around them, Waver trembled with fear.
Clack!
Clack!
The uniform marching, like an army, brought a massive sense of oppression.
"!"
Lelouch panted, looking at the numbers ahead, his mind racing for a strategy to break the deadlock.
He had to find a way for him and Waver to escape this place...
"Ah!!"
"We're done for!"
"Hah!"
Slash!
The attacking familiars caused Waver to scream in terror, but when he closed his eyes, he heard a sharp shout.
Opening his eyes, he saw Saber already standing in front of him with the Holy Sword in hand, and even Assassin was guarding his side.
"Eh? Saber? Assassin?"
Suddenly breathing a sigh of relief, Waver felt inexplicably reassured.
Bam!
Without replying, Kenshin dodged an attack and then swung his fist to knock the creature in front of him flying.
"Assassin, it seems you can still fight even without a sword."
Glancing at Kenshin, Saber raised the corner of her mouth in a tease.
"It is always a bit forced; best not to rely on it."
"After all, this one learned swordsmanship, not pugilism."
Dealing with two or three familiars was fine, but with that dense, army-like number ahead, expecting Kenshin to knock them all down with his fists was unrealistic. He hadn't had time to retrieve the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi he threw earlier.
Moreover, that location was right under the giant creature's feet. In his current half-crippled state, he dared not approach.
"Truly... naive fellows."
Watching Saber and Assassin, who didn't take the opportunity to finish him off but instead helped him, Lelouch really didn't know what to say.
"This is not the occasion for internal strife."
"If we don't work together, we will die."
Cutting down another attacking familiar, Saber spoke solemnly. Her words were not empty boast.
With everyone injured and exhausted, killing each other inside the enemy's Reality Marble was simply misreading the situation.
"Indeed, Rider. At a time like this, we should think of a way."
Glancing sideways at Lelouch, Waver advised earnestly. He knew Rider held great "distrust" towards others, but now was not the time to be stubborn.
"A way?"
"Unless Saber has the spare energy to release her Noble Phantasm again, the three of us Servants tied together aren't enough for this swarm to chew on."
Laughing at himself, Lelouch had long seen the reality clearly. A heavily injured "Literary Emperor"... A "Swordsman" who lost his sword... A "King" with bottomed-out magical energy... Leaving aside the issue of being a burden, just dealing with the overwhelming number of familiars before them was a struggle, let alone going after the "Ophelia" that Kyoko Sakura had transformed into.
"Whether it is Lancer or Caster, if you look closely, they both possess power beyond common sense."
"The encirclement this time... frankly, without gathering the power of other Servants, we couldn't have taken them down!"
Now that he thought about it, Risei Kotomine and the others had inadvertently done a "good deed." The thought of facing Caster or Lancer alone was headache-inducing.
"Is this the time for such clear-headed pessimism? Rider!"
"Heh, I'm not being pessimistic. I've simply determined that the only way to break this deadlock is to rely on Berserker and Archer over there."
"However, whether those two are as 'kind-hearted' as you... that is unknown."
Entrusting his life to others was naturally not a choice Lelouch wanted to make, but with only Saber and Assassin here, he truly couldn't come up with any solution. What could a bunch of "low-health" guys do?
His "Geass" clearly couldn't affect a grotesque monster like "Ophelia." Even if Assassin retrieved the Divine Sword, he couldn't kill that massive entity. The only one they could rely on, Saber, didn't have enough magical energy to release a second "Excalibur."
Inside the Reality Marble, Kiritsugu couldn't be contacted. Hoping for him to use a Command Spell to help was a delusion; not falling into the trap of him pulling Saber away to escape was already asking for a lot.
Now surrounded by familiars, just protecting themselves was a problem; where would they find the energy to attack the main body?
"Wait..."
Suddenly thinking of something, Lelouch's mind began to turn.
"Perhaps there is another way."
"!"
"?"
"What way?"
Saber, Kenshin, and Waver were all startled hearing his words, then waited for the follow-up while maintaining vigilance.
"Kill Caster."
"Kill Caster?"
Unable to understand Rider's words, Saber was puzzled.
"Haven't you noticed? Fighting until now, Lancer clearly has no Master, yet she has never been restricted by magical energy limitations or faded away."
"That proves she contracted a new Master..."
"Combining that with how Caster has been with her, plus the fact that Caster's Master died long ago, it is extremely likely that Caster is her contractor."
"Although I don't know how Caster did it, since he can use all kinds of magic, it wouldn't be strange for him to have a spell to contract a Servant."
"But how do you know Caster's Master is dead?"
"Hmph, I won't reveal that to you. As for whether you want to believe what I just said, that depends on you."
Speaking to this point, Saber, Kenshin, and Waver all understood. Assume Rider's theory is correct.
Then this deduction is worth trusting; otherwise, there's no way to explain why Caster and Lancer have been so close.
"But... to kill Caster, whose location is unknown, in such an army..."
Waver looked up at the surroundings, the corners of his mouth twitching. This iron-bucket-like encirclement web... Can the few of them really do it?
"We can only delay as much as possible and wait for an opportunity."
"Delaying is just a slow death."
"That's not necessarily true."
"What?"
Hearing Saber's words, Lelouch frowned tight. He heard the confidence in her tone.
"With the recovery power of the Sheath, you and I will sooner or later have spare strength..."
"But the question is whether we get taken out first, or if we can really last until that time."
Kenshin understood Saber's meaning and explained.
"Then we have no choice but to try our best, do we not?"
"Aside from that, there is no other way."
'Sheath?' Hearing the dialogue between the two, Lelouch figured both sides had secrets the other didn't know. But just as they were conversing, a roaring sound came from the distance. Looking up, they saw Archer clad in golden armor floating in the air, holding a strange "Sword" in his hand.