After gaining control over Assassin, Aetius temporarily refrained from assassinating Suzuki. He quickly recalled Suzuki's actions and could only confirm that the young Master of the peculiarly dressed Saber Jeanne didn't use magecraft. It was the strange clothing worn by the boy that emitted a flash, a momentary burst of aimless magical energy that disrupted various other magics in a small area.
"Master! Get away from that person!" Jeanne quickly rushed towards Suzuki's position. She could distinguish Assassin, dressed in a tattered cloak, and the older male magus standing near Assassin was undoubtedly Aetius, the commander of the Western Roman Coalition that Attila had mentioned multiple times.
"Assassin, step back. Use your presence concealment." Aetius remained invisible, paying no attention to Assassin's hostile gaze. He focused all his attention on Suzuki's clothing, attempting to decipher the secrets of the attire through his appraisal magecraft. He had seen many different types of clothing as Noble Phantasms, some of them unique collectibles, but this was the first time he encountered clothing attire that could autonomously release offensive magic. If it weren't for the ongoing battle and the presence of multiple Servants on the field, he would certainly seize it. "Your attire is quite special, isn't it?"
Suzuki, who had narrowly escaped death, was still shaken. He had imagined what kind of formidable enemy would make Attila mention them repeatedly, but the opponent's magical prowess far exceeded Suzuki's imagination. Even if Aetius claimed to be a Caster-class Servant, Suzuki wouldn't doubt it.
Just from the close encounter earlier, Suzuki could sense an immense amount of magical power. He had never encountered a magus of such caliber during his time in Chaldea.
"This structure... I see. So, the magic field in the East has already developed fabric materials capable of storing magical energy? And the magic arrays are completely different from ours," Aetius remarked, completely ignoring Suzuki and focusing his attention solely on the attire he had never seen before. In his eyes, a living person held little interest compared to the allure of a unique Mystic Code, more enticing than a golden beauty.
At that moment, Jeanne arrived by Suzuki's side and glanced towards the possible location of Aetius. She had noticed the direction Assassin observed before disappearing.
As expected, Aetius maintained his standing posture but was struck down by Jeanne like a ghost. However, the fallen man didn't shed a drop of blood. Instead, he glanced at Jeanne and said, "Servant, please do not disturb a scholar's research!"
Phasing through Jeanne like a phantom, Aetius approached the bewildered Suzuki. "Young magus from a foreign land, I'll give you a chance. Leave your Mystic Code behind, and I'll spare you."
Suzuki couldn't comprehend the intentions of the middle-aged mage before him, who seemed interested in Chaldea's combat suits.
Lancer, ever since Aetius appeared, remained motionless. She could have taken the opportunity to attack Attila while she was entangled by shadows or intercept Jeanne. But she didn't make a move, not even when she noticed Attila gathering magical energy as she raised her sword.
Aetius naturally knew that the familiars he sent to entangle Attila were temporarily disabled by her. He didn't need to rely on his eyes to understand Attila's actions. Within his magical perception range, Attila's movement of gathering magical energy into her sword was like lighting a bonfire in the darkness, so conspicuous that he thought of using magic to conceal the overflowing magical energy for Attila.
As Attila gathered magical energy, weakened by her injuries, she swung her sword. Simultaneously, Aetius turned towards Attila in the distance and snapped his fingers with his right hand. A series of ancient Roman magical glyphs appeared before him, totaling 14 segments.
In an instant, he activated at least 10 magical attires on his body, allowing him to instantaneously complete 14 interconnected magical components. Through multiple repetitions, he transformed human magecraft, which was initially insufficient, into something close to a Noble Phantasm level.
The mysteries of magecraft were almost completely unraveled to him, and he didn't need to delve into the direction of reaching the root. It was also the reason why he believed he would win against Attila before the battle began. As the self-proclaimed greatest Roman magus, he had successfully erased the words "self-proclaimed" through his talent. With pure bloodline, ancient heritage, and a collection of all Roman-era Mystic Code, combined with extraordinary effort and luck beyond mortal imagination, true genius was the ability to construct a tower that reached the heavens based on the foundation of talent alone.
The sword's radiance halted before Aetius' composite magecraft and calmly evaded. After the magic collapsed, the sword's radiance followed its original path, sweeping away all obstacles.
"Without any technical content, you're still as reckless and barbaric as before, savage! Magic is a treasure bestowed upon humanity by the gods. You're squandering and using it rudely, it's simply an abuse of heavenly gifts! I suggest you at least add a spell to track the flow of magic so that I can't lock onto you."
Suzuki witnessed high-level magecraft, reaching or surpassing Instant Contract (above ten segments), for the first time in his limited life. He had never seen human magecraft of this level before.
Jeanne pulled Suzuki away from the enigmatic and powerful Aetius, relying on her top-notch magical resistance to withstand magical attacks. Suzuki wouldn't be lucky enough to escape Aetius' clutches a second time.
In the Roman territory of the 5th century, the remnants of the divine era and the blessings of the gods gave birth to individuals dazzling enough to astonish not only Suzuki but also Lancer, who intentionally stopped her movements. If Aetius and his Servant switched places in terms of magical prowess, no one would question it. Witnessing the third-rate Servant who could only use explosive familiars, most people would consider Caster's Master as a second-rate magus at best.
A human would typically not meddle in battles between Servants, but the human who appeared in the center of the battlefield was no weaker than Attila, who possessed the Holy Grail. Such formidable strength could disrupt carefully devised schemes and necessitate temporary modifications. It had to be modified!
Attila paid no attention to Aetius' provocative words. She also didn't unleash her full power. Originally, she planned to strike when Aetius revealed himself, but maintaining a stalemate seemed more advantageous at the moment, as there was a considerable chance of failure if she exposed herself.
Lancer, intentionally refraining from taking action, noticed Aetius looking in her direction. She maintained an expressionless face and used her spear to attack and Jeanne protected Suzuki, engaged in battle. Servants against Servants, the two human heroes fought each other, which was quite reasonable.
Thanks to Jeanne's comforting holy arts, Suzuki calmed down. At this moment, he recalled other information about the Valkyrie Brynhildr from his memories. "Brynhildr's magical level is relatively low, C rank. Jeanne, we can try to engage in a battle of attrition."
Jeanne's magical level was A, but due to her Noble Phantasm factors, her high-performance attribute couldn't be fully utilized at the moment and could only be used for simple holy arts.
"Is that so?" Jeanne showed slight disbelief. In her opinion, Lancer's magic seemed stronger and more agile than fighting with a spear. In terms of strength, Lancer couldn't compete with Jeanne at all, and they only exchanged blows for three or four rounds. Jeanne relied on her strength to successfully grab hold of Lancer's enormous spear and bring her down from mid-air.
A blue magical flame descended from the tip of the spear, though its range was small, it completely engulfed Jeanne. Without any signs of activation, when Jeanne tried to dodge, the scattered magical flames had already ignited her clothes and armor. The high level of magical resistance ensured that the magical flames couldn't use Jeanne as fuel, but the burning sensation ignited her suppressed fighting spirit.
Lancer landed on the ground, disregarding the flames on her body, and immediately shattered Jeanne's magical shield. Then, she manipulated the flames on the ground, transforming them into identical whirlwinds that forcibly separated Lancer and Jeanne.
"Indeed, you 'can't' use Noble Phantasms," Lancer said before Jeanne could break free from the flames for the second time, taking a step back. Her cold eyes remained devoid of panic.
On the other side, Attila attempted to close the distance between them, avoiding Aetius' unexpected magic attacks. Attila was always clear about her objective. Since her childhood, when she came to Rome to study civilization, she believed that to achieve certain things, sacrifices needed to be made. It could be cultural traditions, dietary habits, or occasional prayers such as "obedience to the gods" that hung from her lips.
Aetius had no intention of engaging Attila in close combat. Despite his verbal provocations towards Attila, he had multiple defensive measures and escape tools, and he wouldn't take the risk of wasting them.
"You cunning old fox! Why did you decide to come out of your den today? Because I defeated Rider?"
"I warned your Servant last night. If you continue to participate in the Holy Grail War not as a Master but openly join the battle against the Servants, I will personally intervene and make you understand the consequences of being a disobedient savage!"
One advancing and one retreating, various magical techniques repeatedly blocked Attila's sword. Aetius also began to arrange his damaged shadow familiars, strategically positioning them to see if the injured Assassin, who was lurking in the shadows, could use their Noble Phantasm to threaten Attila this time.
In Aetius' view, he was completely different from the barbarian leader Attila, who only possessed monstrous physical strength. True nobility had a higher set of standards.
