You call this a projection?

What just happened?

Bazett blinked blankly. However, as a true practitioner of combat—a powerhouse who, in some official spin-off works, was even capable of punching out Gilgamesh and taking down an entire Holy Grail War’s worth of participants single-handedly—her reflexes were far ahead of her rational mind.

Rather than her brain needing to process the situation, the intuition of her long-trained physique sensed the anomaly first. Bazett’s hands pressed down hard, instantly supporting her prone body as she began a rapid pivot.

She didn’t immediately stand up to survey the situation; instead, she used that support as leverage for a follow-up strike. She immediately transitioned into a sweeping kick aimed at Emiya Shirou’s direction, intending to knock down the boy beside her as a preemptive measure.

Even now, Bazett couldn’t fathom why she had ended up back on the floor the first time she tried to get up. But the only one capable of doing such a thing at that moment was the Emiya Shirou right next to her.

So...

Bazett once again stared in silence at the familiar ceiling that had abruptly returned to her field of vision.

Yes, Bazett was lying down again. And unlike the first time, which could have been attributed to an ambush, she had been fully prepared for the second attempt. Even her attacking posture had been specifically adjusted to counter any potential strike from Shirou.

Yet, despite that, she still had no idea how she had been taken down.

’No, I absolutely have to figure this out!

Again!’

Back on the floor.

’Again!’

Back on the floor.

.

.

.

The cycle repeated several times, to the point where Bazett began to doubt if she had even woken up yet. Perhaps everything she was experiencing was merely a dream, and her true self

was still lying critically injured and dying on the cold floor of the Ghost Mansion. Thus, every time she tried to launch an attack, she would ”snap back” to lying on the floor.

To put it in human terms: ”Thoughts by day, dreams by night.”

”Do you want to try again?”

Just as Bazett was sinking into this self-doubt, Emiya Shirou’s voice began to ring in her ear. ”After lying on the ground so many times, I’m sure you’ve figured it out by now.

We aren’t the ones who attacked you. Otherwise, after the Command Spells on the back of your hand were recovered, Lancer—who has been watching from the doorway for quite a while—wouldn’t have remained indifferent until now... well, forget I said that.”

He looked at the face of realization dawning on Bazett. It seemed that if Shirou hadn’t reminded her, Bazett might not have realized even now that the Holy Grail War is a game of fourteen players—or more specifically, a game between seven Masters and their seven summoned Servants.

While the relationship between a Master and Servant of the same pair isn’t always good—with some Servants even wishing their Masters would hurry up and die so they can find a better one, like Gilgamesh—such difficult Servants are, after all, the minority.

It would be more accurate to say that Servants who respond to the call of the Holy Grail War have wishes they want to fulfill, which is why they were ”lured” here by the Grail. Once a Master dies, they lose their mana supply and can only return to the Throne of Heroes.

Therefore, whether by personality or motivation, Lancer had no reason to let Bazett face enemies she couldn’t possibly beat all by herself.

Yet that was the reality. There had to be some secret involved. Plus, Bazett had actually only been repeatedly knocked down, not had her hand severed again or left dying... any normal person could put these facts together.

However, Bazett hadn’t...

Seeing the expression on Bazett’s face, Shirou finally understood why the Mages’ Association—which had turned submissive the moment Aoko Aozaki came knocking—had the courage to play Bazett for a fool for so long, despite her being a person capable of hand-to-hand combat with Servants.

In other words, if Shirou didn’t speak up to stop her, Bazett would truly keep competing with him indefinitely.

Thinking of this, even though this competition didn’t place much of a burden on him, Shirou couldn’t help but feel mentally exhausted.

”To put it simply, not only are we not enemies, we’re very likely to become allies.

Even the injuries on your body were healed by us, and the same goes for Lancer.

It’s precisely because of our help that Lancer was liberated from that series of restrictions. If you don’t trust us, don’t you at least trust Lancer?”

After Shirou finished his sentence, Bazett actually did turn her gaze toward Lancer.

Lancer had been enjoying the show—mainly because even he couldn’t see exactly how Shirou had done what he just did, and he had intended to continue gathering information.

He was forced to temporarily abandon that plan, offering a helpless, wry smile. ”I certainly can’t argue with that.

But kid, you seem to know a lot. From what you’re saying, you seem to know exactly what kind of orders that priest used Command Spells to give me.”

Lancer looked at Shirou with curiosity.

Methods even he couldn’t decipher and precise information channels... if it weren’t for the bloodstains still on Shirou’s school uniform from when he had pierced Shirou’s heart earlier, Lancer would truly doubt if the Emiya Shirou whose heart he had stabbed was the same person as the one before him.

Shirou didn’t answer Lancer’s question. Having received the definitive answer from Lancer—or rather, having intentionally made Lancer give that answer for Bazett to hear—Shirou continued, ”Of course, I’m not saying these things to hold a favor over you.

I’m telling you a fact: I am strong.

Even if you use your full armament, including your status as a Sealing Designation Enforcer and the Age of Gods Mystic Codes passed down in your family, I can still make you lose your ability to resist, just like I did just now.

If you don’t believe me, you can give it a try.”

Standing up from Bazett’s side, Shirou gestured with his hand. ”This time, I won’t interfere with your preparations.”

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