"Reika Rikudou, 23 years old. Originally a young lady from a wealthy family..."
"It's just for one night of pleasure. Do you really need to know so much?"
Reika Rikudou studied the man before her. He shared her skin tone, was handsome, young, and clearly wealthy. Little Jack had also told her his magical power was incredibly dense—more than all the Magi they'd hunted combined. It was hard to believe a Magus of his caliber would specifically seek out a streetwalker like her. She had been on guard from the start, with Little Jack lying in ambush nearby.
As she spoke, Reika began to remove her coat. Having been forced into the sex trade by circumstance, she had shed her pride while retaining her original grace. She now exuded a blatant, practiced allure. It was no wonder those other Magi had fallen so easily into her trap.
"You've certainly done your homework on me, sir."
"No, I just looked you up on the Type-Moon Wiki."
Since Fate/Apocrypha had a large cast, many characters' backstories weren't fully fleshed out. Jiang You wouldn't have had much more to say anyway.
"?"
Reika assumed Jiang You was joking and played along with a laugh. It was a practiced, easy response for her.
"You have quite the sense of humor, sir."
"No need to force a smile. I didn't come here for that."
Reika Rikudou's figure was indeed excellent, but Jiang You had seen more exaggerated ones, on both sides. Such an obvious fake smile didn't work on him.
"I'm here to discuss the Holy Grail War with you, the Master of the Black Faction's... no, the independent Assassin."
"So you're just another Magus here to hunt me down?"
Reika Rikudou's smile returned to her face, but this time it wasn't feigned. It was a genuine smile from the heart. Though her moral compass seemed no different from a normal person's, her past experiences had numbed her to most emotions. She was more like a natural monster, able to face any situation with cold composure—even outmaneuvering Magi as an ordinary human.
"My apologies, then. My Assassin is still hungry. Please die here."
Before her words had even faded, a white-haired young girl burst from the shadows, a pair of sharp daggers slashing toward Jiang You's neck.
To be honest, the Holy Grail War rarely features truly third-rate Servants. Unfortunately, Little Jack was one of them.
As part of the Jack the Ripper legend, she was formed from the vengeful spirits of unborn children. Aside from having almost no legendary bonus, she also lacked corresponding combat prowess, her only advantage being slightly superior speed. Her Noble Phantasm could achieve a near-certain kill, but only under specific conditions. Even then, at its absolute peak, it was merely on par with Cursed Arm's Noble Phantasm, Zabaniya.
In truth, Jiang You's own rudimentary skills would have been enough to handle her (mainly because he was male).
However, Jiang You was a Summoner-type character. Fighting personally would not only diminish his prestige but also look unseemly (think pure-stat brute force brawling). So, he decisively summoned his own Assassin.
Hundred Faces, wearing a skull mask, also wielded daggers and met Little Jack head-on. Relying on her body's flexibility, Hundred Faces tangled with Little Jack. This was the first time Jiang You had seen a Servant who could fight Hundred Faces to a standstill.
Of course, it wasn't a true fifty-fifty fight. Hundred Faces quickly fell into a disadvantage, only avoiding an instant defeat through acrobatic maneuvers. She then split into several clones, finally compensating for her weakness.
Reika Rikudou's keen sense of danger told her how perilous the situation was. Her usual strategy for hunting Magi relied on her Servant's overwhelming, instant kills. If she got into a direct conflict with another Master, her exposed position would only make her a liability to Little Jack.
Startled, she immediately bolted for the window. This wasn't a remote location; if she could escape outside, the principle of concealing Mystery would grant her relative safety.
One could say she was born to be a Master, but both her own abilities and Little Jack's were too weak, leaving her with no room to maneuver.
Jiang You grabbed her. Reika spun around, pulling a dagger from nowhere and thrusting it at his temple. Her movement was so slow that Jiang You could have interrupted it at any moment. However, he chose not to, allowing her to strike his head. This way, he could demonstrate with absolute power that she had no chance of winning.
"If I truly intended to harm you, I wouldn't have waited this long. Why not hear me out?"
Jiang You seized Reika's dagger and tossed it aside.
Just then, Little Jack exploited her petite frame to land a solid kick on Hundred Faces' chest, sending her stumbling toward Jiang You. Meanwhile, Little Jack used the confined space to her advantage, slitting the throats of the other clones.
"Forgive me, Master... I have failed..."
The original Hundred Faces bowed her head to Jiang You in apology, then began to split into more clones, preparing to fight again.
Jiang You stopped her. Hundred Faces' Noble Phantasm was ill-suited for direct combat; her stats diminished with each clone she created. Without a decisive ability, and unable to leverage her usual poisons, explosives, or traps in this confined space, it was no surprise she lost to a frontal fighter like Little Jack.
"It's not your fault. This was just a whim of mine. Everyone has their specialty, and this isn't yours."
At the same time, Little Jack saw her "Mommy" being held by Jiang You and immediately attacked. Several cutting daggers flew from beneath her cloak, aimed at Jiang You's vitals.
"Melusine, act now."
In that instant, a blue blur crashed through the window. Before anyone could react, the intruder had seized Little Jack and pinned her against the wall.
Reika Rikudou snapped back to her senses, only to see Little Jack completely immobilized, held by the neck by a girl not much older than herself. For some reason, the long-haired girl emanated a terrifying aura that made Reika tremble.
The battle had been decided in an instant, making Reika acutely aware of the vast power gap between them. If she had been more decisive and had Little Jack unleash her Noble Phantasm earlier, they might have had a slim chance. However, even though both of Jiang You's Servants were female, it wasn't nighttime, so the outcome would still have been uncertain.
"I surrender. As long as you spare my Servant, I'll agree to any condition."
Jiang You chuckled.
"You're so decisive, I'm starting to think you're the real Magus here. Besides, I told you, didn't I? I came to discuss the Holy Grail War with you, but you wouldn't give me the chance."
Of course I wouldn't, Reika thought. Who would blindly trust an enemy who could kill them at any moment? But having learned to read people from a young age, she knew better than to ruin Jiang You's mood and simply nodded in agreement.
"In fact, this Holy Grail War is already over."
Jiang You glanced at the struggling Little Jack and signaled for Melusine to release her.
"I came to persuade you to stop hunting Magi. And also, to help fulfill your wishes."