Saber Gilles de Rais signed a contract with Suzuki Yuki before it got dark, simultaneously possessing two Servants that were dangerous to most people. Suzuki himself was unsure before signing the contract, and the records in the Chaldea organization only mentioned rumors of Masters being able to form contracts with multiple Servants, but most magus had their magic drained by just one Servant.
In reality, it only caused Suzuki temporary exhaustion and dizziness. Aetius, the commanding general of the Western Roman Coalition Army who had been observing Suzuki's condition, promptly fed him an unknown potion to help him recover faster.
The dormant magic circuits still didn't respond, even after experiencing a significant stimulus. Aetius was more interested in Suzuki's inactive magic circuits. With his discerning eyes, he could tell that Suzuki was a naturally talented magus. While he couldn't compare to Aetius himself, who was a genius among geniuses, he was much stronger than the descendants of magus families who only inherited their magic crest for a few generations.
"How do you feel?"
Suzuki only saw Aetius suddenly appear before him and felt like he was being forced to drink a bitter medicine. He glanced at Saber Gilles de Rais and finally snapped out of his daze.
"I... Do you know it's dangerous for me to form contracts with two Servants at the same time?"
Only in matters related to the Holy Grail War did Suzuki's mind work faster. He gradually understood why Aetius had questioned him in the afternoon and silently approved of Suzuki's risky move.
"I have assessed the feasibility. Your constitution is special, allowing you to defy common sense and form contracts with multiple Servants, becoming their Master. We have a cooperative relationship now, and you can consider me as your magic advisor," Aetius joked. He admired talented individuals, and Suzuki's unique compatibility with the Holy Grail War system greatly changed his opinion. Of course, if Suzuki could grasp some magical talent, it wouldn't be impossible for Aetius to take him as a disciple. Unfortunately, Suzuki's magic circuits had never been activated, preventing him from using orthodox magecraft.
At that moment, Saber Gilles de Rais seemed to have noticed something and immediately gestured to the two of them. As he looked into the distance, the sun, which hadn't completely set yet, disappeared in an instant. The sky and the earth plunged into darkness ahead of schedule.
"The sunset came early?" Saber Gilles de Rais vaguely thought of a possibility, but he couldn't be certain. To confirm, all he had to do was consult the sinister book he had carried with him since his summoning. But he didn't want to do that.
Suzuki also sensed something was amiss. The sudden darkness that came out of nowhere was not as comfortable as the previous dizziness. An invisible sense of fear enveloped Suzuki's chest as if this force was directly targeting his heart. He quickly covered his chest, trying to alleviate the discomfort.
"The enemy is more proficient in magecraft than I imagined, and according to classification, it should not belong to the traditional category," Aetius was also interested in the systematic classification of black magic, but now was a time of war, and he had no time or extra energy to study it. "I remember Saber Gilles de Rais mentioned black magic?"
Aetius did not feel the weight on his chest, but he could hear nearby soldiers being affected by the invisible terrifying force. Prolonged exposure to it could crush an ordinary person.
"Yes, but I can't think of a solution at the moment," Saber Gilles de Rais was slightly troubled. His new Master was being attacked by the enemy's magic, and he couldn't help for the time being. If Jeanne d'Arc were present, she could use her holy arts to dispel it. Holiness could drive away evil, but when evil of the same kind competed against each other, who would be more wicked?
Suzuki wanted to say that he was fine and could hold on for a while. Aetius just chanted a few ancient spells and conjured a bronze mirror from his hand. Within a range of ten steps around him, the darkness was temporarily dispelled in a visible form, relieving Suzuki from the indiscriminate attacks.
No need to ask, the mirror Aetius temporarily pulled out was another magical relic related to Roman mythology. He generously handed the bronze mirror to Suzuki. "Hold onto it, young man."
"But what about you?" Suzuki's body immediately recovered as he entered the range, no longer oppressed by the black magic and able to breathe normally.
"It's fine, this level of black magic can't affect me." As he spoke, a faint stardust-like light flashed on Aetius's body. He used magecraft that Suzuki couldn't recognize to perform divination. "Lancer is underestimating us more than I expected. Isn't she even trying to conceal her tracks?" His gaze suddenly became clear, as if he could see through the cover of the distant forest and penetrate any hiding evil. His mastery of magecraft had reached a level where he could manipulate it at will, making it possible to engage in a magical battle with an enemy at the level of a Servant. "Saber Gilles de Rais, protect your new Master."
"Are you going to...?"
Before Suzuki and Gilles de Rais could stop him, Aetius instantly merged into the shadow familiar prepared underground, taking the form of a distorted black shadow and swiftly moving towards the location he obtained from his divination.
Suzuki wanted to follow, but he was immediately stopped by Gilles de Rais. The enemy was too dangerous, and approaching recklessly would be no different from suicide. Brunhilda, who had transformed into a witch, possessed mysterious and unpredictable black magic. Gilles de Rais knew that there were many long-range methods of cursing humans, so they had to proceed with caution.
"Let's return to the camp. I know how to create a magic circle that weakens the enemy's magic power."
Suzuki initially wanted to refuse, but when he looked at the bronze mirror in his hand, he complied with Gilles de Rais's suggestion. Many soldiers in the camp were enduring the torment of black magic, so helping them alleviate it would truly be assisting Aetius.
At that moment, an arrow flew towards Suzuki from behind, but thanks to Gilles de Rais's timely detection, he used his excellent swordsmanship to accurately block and deflect the dangerous arrow.
"Master, crouch down. Hide behind me," Gilles de Rais shouted and quickly moved to the side, positioning his own body in front of Suzuki.
The second arrow quickly came from another direction, and Gilles de Rais once again blocked it with his sword. However, this time he quickly realized the problem. The first arrow carried an accelerating magic property, aiming to pierce Suzuki's heart, while the second arrow was marked with a magic spell.
The arrow fell to the ground and broke, and Gilles de Rais quickly glanced at the hilt of his sword, where there was a fading emblem.
He had been marked with a location. However, with only two arrows that concealed the angle, Gilles de Rais couldn't determine Archer's position.
"Master, does Archer have a Noble Phantasm that requires a marked location to be used?"
The situation was extremely urgent, and Suzuki didn't have time to think it through. Three arrows came consecutively from different directions, precisely intersecting Suzuki's position. Gilles de Rais forcefully pushed Suzuki away at the last moment, but he couldn't dodge in time and was hit by one of the arrows. Fortunately, his armor withstood the arrow.
Atalanta's Noble Phantasm, "Phoebus Catastrophe," a wide-range barrage of light arrows, was recorded in Chaldea's database. Suzuki had witnessed its actual power, which was not considered strong and posed a low threat to Servants like Gilles de Rais, who had armor protection.
Marking? Suzuki didn't remember any mention of it in the recorded data. There was only one preliminary action of praying to the sky before using the Phoebus Catastrophe, and it had little to do with marking.
"No, to my knowledge, there isn't."
"To your knowledge, how many Noble Phantasms does Archer possess?" Gilles de Rais remained vigilant in all directions as he slowly retreated towards the camp, taking advantage of the sufficient obstacles within the camp, which was better than being out in the open as easy targets.
"Two. One is the arrow rain you've seen, and the other is the Noble Phantasm she obtained from the story of the magic boar's fur. I don't think she will use the latter. If she does, she will transform into a berserk monster." Suzuki, although anxious, maintained a high level of composure when providing information closely related to the Holy Grail War, as if reciting a memorized standard answer during an exam.
However, the Holy Grail War was far from a written exam, and memorized knowledge did not necessarily guarantee accuracy.
Gilles de Rais trusted his intuition. Archer was still aiming from the shadows, and marking himself was not just to increase the accuracy of the shots. Ordinary arrows would have a hard time injuring him.
Gilles de Rais shot down sporadic arrows one by one, but his caution did not yield any results. Archer's position remained unknown. He and Suzuki safely retreated to the camp, seemingly evading Archer's sniping.
Hidden among the tree shadows, Archer whispered a question to Attila, who was in another camp. If she defeated Saber Gilles de Rais here, the Western Roman faction would be left with only a weak Caster Servant and would be unable to continue participating in the Holy Grail War. "...Yes, I am certain that this arrow can target the Saber who has arrived in Orleans."
Receiving confirmation once again, Atalanta's bright eyes narrowed slightly. The obstructive tents and wooden fences blocked her line of sight, but they couldn't hinder this skilled hunter's special hunting technique. A magic battle of considerable scale was taking place not too far away, but Archer wasn't concerned about the developments there. She was now fully focused on the arrows she held and the chaotic camp.
She had nowhere to hide from the prey she targeted. Setting the mark was precisely to ensure that this Noble Phantasm would hit its target.
"Caristo, the guardian of pure vows. Sinners who have failed to keep their oaths, offer your prayers to her—"
When Atalanta first manifested, she hadn't reached the level of being able to use her third Noble Phantasm. It was Attila, holding the Holy Grail, who granted her magical power beyond the normal limit. Since then, she believed she could defeat all the other Servants. At least this time, she could protect her pure vow and contend for the sole laurel as a female emperor.
"Seven Arrows of the Big Dipper."
Releasing the true name of her Noble Phantasm, she immediately felt a significant lightness in her entire body. If it weren't for the special circumstances of this Holy Grail War, she wouldn't have had the opportunity to possess this Noble Phantasm and confess to the same sin as her once-admired predecessor.
But when Atalanta opened her eyes, she was horrified to see a sinister clown face, emitting chilling laughter directed at her. "Caristo of Ursa Major was a pitiful person forced into it, but you are not."
