The path to the Observatory had been deliberately sealed off, turning it into a grueling obstacle course.
Not only were there strange obstructions that made the passage much narrower than elsewhere—barely wide enough for one or two people to walk side by side—but the path was also full of twists and turns, with a bend every few steps.
On top of that, there were countless misleading forks. Take one, and you'd find yourself facing more branches, creating a maze seemingly designed to keep intruders out. In this labyrinth, where only a single path led to the Observatory, nurous hostile combat programs manifested as monsters.
They frequently jumped out from corners and launched preemptive strikes against Shiomi's group.
Though these battles weren't particularly intense—Shiomi could often resolve them with a move or two—they were still a constant annoyance.
The biggest threat at the mont was the "Guardian" standing in their way, blocking the only route to the Observatory. Designed alongside Passionlip, and resembling a sister to her, she was a high-level AI possessing composite divinity.
Alterego—ltryllis.
Tall and lithe like a ballet dancer, she was the complete opposite of Lip. Her legs were constructed like stilts—both deadly weapons and venomous stingers.
According to the intel Lip provided, ltryllis wielded an ability called the lt Virus, which she could inject into targets through her sharp legs like a bee's sting.
Anything with physical form—whether organic or inorganic—could be absorbed by it. In doing so, she'd drain her target's power and eventually devour them completely.
On top of that, ltryllis possessed incredible speed. Only Shiomi and Scáthach could keep up with the aggressive, dance-like rhythm of her attacks.
The others had ford a defensive formation with Morgan as the temporary core, waiting for the right mont to break in and interfere.
"Whoa…"
Scáthach twisted her body sharply, dodging a kick aid directly at her face.
After the failed strike, ltryllis pursued imdiately. With elegant precision, she shifted her weight onto the opposite leg, spun midair, and lunged—her spiked knee aid squarely at Scáthach's abdon.
Clang!
The descending blow was intercepted by a sweeping strike from Gáe Bolg, its sheer force sending ltryllis flying.
She spun several tis in midair before hitting the floor with a sharp, clean sound.
Though a restraint mask similar to Lip's covered her face—making communication impossible—her movents were clearly more agile and fluid than Lip's.
Neither Morgan's Magecraft nor Tristan's arrows could corner her for long. Even if they managed to halt her montarily, ltryllis would instantly detect any threat from behind and break free with lightning speed.
"This is a real problem. Never mind everything else—just her speed alone surpasses any Servant I've seen until now."
After widening the gap again, Scáthach offered her evaluation.
"She is a high-grade Servant, after all. In terms of sheer ability, her speed probably ranks among the top even within the countless Heroic Spirits," Shiomi said, leveling his spear. "We need to find a way to pin her down."
Just then, from one side of the formation, Tristan gave them a hand signal.
Catching it from the corner of his eye, Shiomi nodded to Scáthach, then moved first—becoming a flash of cold light as he charged into ltryllis, who had just launched another assault.
He deliberately exposed a gap in his defense to draw ltryllis in more aggressively, then began retreating step by step.
Spotting what looked like an opening, ltryllis spun into a kick, knocking Shiomi's spear aside. She danced forward like a black swan, twirling closer and closer.
Her figure moved so quickly that her limbs and face beca indistinct blurs, but anyone could tell—contact with that deadly dance would be like being thrown into a at grinder.
But such overwhelming speed ca at a cost: a brief drop in montum.
And an all-out offensive wasn't the sa as having real defense.
Shiomi unleashed Magecraft, sending a gale between them that blew him and ltryllis apart. In that mont, Scáthach leapt high and launched her crimson spear through the air.
"Soaring Spear of Kick-Piercing Death—Gáe Bolg Alternative!"
The spear split into dozens, raining down like a storm of red lightning. ltryllis was forced to halt her steps and dodge while retaliating, trying to move beyond the strike zone.
In this form, the True Na-released spear lost its sure-hit property but gained wide-area devastation.
ltryllis evaded on instinct—only to suddenly feel her body brush against sothing. She reflexively looked back.
Dozens of threads snapped tight in an instant, binding her where she stood. Though powerful, ltryllis lacked brute strength and was instantly immobilized.
"I'm sorry, lt!" Lip called out from a distance, stretching her hands toward ltryllis in apology.
She ignored the physical distance, collapsing space further to restrict ltryllis's movents.
Lip carefully controlled the compression's speed and scale to make sure it only restrained movent. Her aim was to completely neutralize ltryllis, giving Morgan ti to reach her Saint Graph and purify her—freeing her from the role of "Guardian."
But Lip had overlooked a crucial fact—until BB warned her:
"No good. That's not enough to hold ltryllis."
In the next instant, the trapped ltryllis suddenly dissolved—her body splitting apart into colorless liquid and spreading outward to escape.
"Her body is a vessel made entirely of fluid. Purely physical restraints can't hold her."
"I get it now!"
Shiomi suddenly rushed forward, striking at ltryllis's reforming body barehanded, just as her knee—reford into a stinger—brushed past him in a counterattack.
Blood sprayed from his arm and mixed into the liquid gradually taking shape.
He pulled back quickly, injured arm trailing. Both sides disengaged again. Within seconds, ltryllis had reford her fluid body completely.
Shiomi glanced at his wrist. The wound was healing.
Just a graze. So venom had entered, but it wasn't serious.
"What a reckless move…" Gawain muttered in disbelief.
Shiomi had fought with such discipline before—why had he suddenly gone in barehanded, risking a direct hit?
"No, you're mistaken, Sir Gawain," Artoria said, preparing to resu the pursuit. "Master already accomplished his goal."
At her words, Shiomi casually raised his hand toward ltryllis.
"Well, that was a bit rough. I'll patch you up properly in a mont."
ltryllis, still unaware of what had just happened, froze in place.
Then, her expression twisted beneath the restraint mask. The girl instinctively clutched at herself as vines and flowers burst from her body.
With a cry of pain, the fluid-bodied girl was overtaken by plants in an instant, collapsing in a bed of flowers—completely immobilized.
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