An arrow whistled through the air before impaling itself through the center of another shaft three hundred meters away. A target fifty meters closer was briefly illuminated before it was hit by a fireball, then quickly frozen by a secondary strike. It was just the usual business at the Chaldea shooting range, an outdoor area in the north wing where servants could freely practice their ranged abilities on easily produced targets without worry of damaging the facility. Its entrance point was renovated from a section of the storage garage where cargo supplies formerly arrived. Rebuilt with a large awning, benches, and several lockers, the garage now served to shelter servants from the elements when the targets are being replaced or the snowfall increased dramatically.

The crack of a matchlock precedes a round tearing clear through three moving targets that lined up at the precise moment. With a grin, black-clad wielder readjusted her peaked cap that sat atop ebony hair, and wiped the snow off its large golden emblem. A red-banded accent on the headwear matched the flowing, crimson cape that waved in the wind to her left, held on with a golden badge. With a chuckle, she eyed new targets in her port's range.

She shifted her golden armored boots back into a balanced position before adjusting the katana on her left. A new musket materialized in the air before her and she grasped it with one of her white-gloved hands, swiftly pointing it at a new target before squeezing the trigger with practiced grace. The weapon released its payload with a crack, tearing through the throat of the silhouette forged by projection magecraft.

Oda Nobunaga smirked. It's only been a day since she returned from fixing a benign singularity in Australia with a small squad of servants, so she was still picturing her smooth dispatching of enemies as she practiced on the range. Several targets came into view in front of her port and she pretended it was similar to the group of werewolves that attempted to ambush the party in the outback. She materialized several matchlocks at once, grasping two while letting three more hover nearby. In a chorus of orchestrated fire, all muskets fired as one and blew apart the visible targets. Nobunaga let out a laugh at her own display.

The warlord frowned upon hearing footsteps approach from behind. She was the farthest port on the left, so anyone approaching probably wanted something from her. On the range, that usually meant someone was challenging another to a target duel. For Nobunaga though, it was usually a "true" archer just passing by to ponder out-loud how a rifleman made it into the ranks, just to grate her nerves.

As she thought about the possibility of both, she suddenly found herself ignoring both possibilities when the servant simply took the port next to her instead of declaring a challenge. Maybe she thought too far into it. Since the ports weren't divided physically with barriers, she could simply see who took the slot next to her, but she decided it wasn't worth the wasted destruction time. Readjusting her position with a small sigh, she materialized a rifle and pointed it towards the first of her next intended targets and-

Three cracks of the sound barrier echoed from the port beside her.

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Fragment 2: Friendly Fire

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Her eyes widened when the heads of her next three targets rattled from the impacts that sank clear through the center of each. With significant damage received, her chosen targets began swiftly degrading to nothing. It was no significant loss since projecting them was a rather simple affair; They were designed to be easily made and destroyed for simplicity's sake. But they were still her targets she wanted to shoot at.

"You've got some nerve," she groaned out to the nearby shooter.

Straightening her posture, she looked to the source of the rounds and her red eyes met a turquoise pair from beneath a black western hat. The platinum blonde smirked and casually readjusted his black duster and red, flowing scarf. Silver spurs on brown boots clinked when he shifted his legs back, holstering a pearl handled revolver. Fine leather made up the holster itself was held by ivory straps, matching the tops of the boots. A bronze patterned undershirt partially covered the top of his jet black pants, both only barely spotted beneath the duster of the signature battle attire.

"Gotta be quicker than that," the boy chuckled cheerfully.

Nobunaga raised an eyebrow at the offender before scowling. "It's only polite to claim targets to your port mates before firing, newbie."

The young man only smiled in response. "Reckon that's a hello to you too. I can't argue I'm a greenhorn in Chaldea, so I'm not surprised I've yet to make this fellow marksman's acquaintance."

Oda grunted. "Well, you broke the ice, kid."

"Billy the kid is more like it... Miss?" the cowboy asked with a raised brow.

Oda's eyes widened in recognition. A young cowboy who was swift on the hammer; How she didn't recognize the famed Billy the Kid immediately, nor seen him around Chaldea in the three months she's been here, was beyond her. She chalked it up to her spending most of her time, including most meals, meditating and cleaning rifles in her room… or playing explosive pranks on random servants and some irritating human mages, of course. Perhaps he should be next on her list.

"Oda Nobunaga."

"Woah! One of Japan's greatest warlords was a girl?" Billy let out a small chuckle.

Red eyes turned darker. "Watch what you say before you end up a skull, cowboy. I'm not the Demon Archer for nothing."

Billy raised his hands in surrender, though the aggravating smile he worse was still present. "My mistake. Didn't mean to step on the snake! I'm sorry. I get ahead of myself sometimes."

She huffed. At least he didn't press his point. "Just don't do it again."

"Fair enough, but tell you what. Reckon since the two of us have yet to properly greet in the ten days I've been here, and it seems I crossed you, how 'bout a shootout to let out the tension?" He smiled.

Nobunaga smirked back. "Sounds good to me, seeing as we can't openly fight. What're the rules?"

The kid looked out towards the range to see the last targets taken down, signaling a break as green lights flared above and robots proceeded to erect new ones. Since the targets were mostly moved by rather simple mechanisms created by Da Vinci, targets only need to be placed onto the holders. This allowed everyone else, save for the mages projecting new targets for the robots, to enjoy a slight bit of leisure. The other servants were already returning to the shelter of the garage, but the pair continued to stand under the light dusting while Billy considered the options.

Oda stared impatiently at one of Chaldea's signature robots to pass the time. A silent, mana powered thruster beneath it kept the machine afloat. On metal arms that sprouted from the central sphere were three eyes that adjusted constantly to focus on its task, its current one being to properly gauge the target's stability in its holder. It had ocean blue paint like the rest of Chaldea's robotic units, though each could have different varieties for its four arms depending on their delegated tasks. This one simply had four clawed arms for precision grasping, which was the standard design.

She pondered what it took to get the mages to agree to having these scientific machines, let alone upgrading them into techmaturgical achievements. From her experiences, mages abhorred technology, yet this facility was filled with scientific endeavor and accompanying personnel. Roman had often explained their sheer versatility and obedience won them over, but she still believed the former director had to have been more convincing than that. Regardless of what it took, they made every chore from laundry to cleaning an automated process no person or servant had to do, and that was something that couldn't be ignored.

Speaking of ignored, she chuckled but offered no apology as Billy cleared his throat for the third time. "Now then… Open season. Highest target count wins."

Nobunaga raised an eyebrow. She wasn't one to often follow the rules of war, but she had a reputation to uphold here. "Any limitations?"

"No noble phantasms… No craft coins… All skill."

Oda's expression remained calculating. She reached into her pocket and grasped the metal craft coin she had been testing. Gudao had given it to her this morning, face down like it currently was to depict the red back with the Chaldea logo in gold. He did it as a tiny surprise of sorts, letting the servants flip it to see what they got before theorizing what its purpose was. Sometimes they'd receive a new one, and a random servant would be asked to test its qualities.

With a swift motion, she flipped the standard coin, nearly five centimeters in diameter, into the air to catch it on the opposite face that depicted a brunette, female archer. Gudao believed, judging by the image depicting traditional Japanese archery, that it had something to do with accuracy. After leaving her favorite craft coin in her room, since carrying any more than one neutralized all of their boosts, she had come here to test it. Nobunaga was pleasantly surprised to find aiming at moving targets was now a complete joke when combined with her marksman skills.

Too bad she couldn't use it in the little shoot off… not that she needed it. The coin was dropped to her feet as she smirked.

"Prepare to lose!"

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'Two targets. Two!'

The cowboy's smirk irritated her to no end as it flashed in her mind. "There's no way he didn't cheat!"

Nobunaga groaned in frustration as she sat in the middle of her room. She soon yelled loudly in frustration before falling back onto the tatami mats that covered her floor; They had to actually get them from a supply sortie instead of having them made. She kept the room otherwise bare since she didn't like having guests besides Okita or occasionally Benkei. It was the reason she only had two sitting cushions, one of which she threw across her room to nearly topple the traditional, four-paneled room divider. The item wobbled briefly, but remained standing thanks to a supporting chest on its opposite side.

The warlord stared towards the edge of the lone container, silently contemplating whether she should use her contraband materials to make a prank bomb. While it was always an amusing way to lift her mood, it wouldn't erase the fact a veteran archer of Chaldea had been soundly defeated by a newbie. It didn't help her situation that he only had one gun to his name while she had several. Groaning again, and flailing almost comically, she racked her brain to think of-

There was irritated knocking at the door. "Will you keep it down, Nobu? I'm trying to take an afternoon nap!"

She remained where she was, her eyebrow twitching slightly. "Shut up, Okita! I'm angry!"

"Clearly…" There was coughing, which made Nobunaga chuckle. Some blood was likely involved. "You need to learn to fume in silence. But thank you for at least doing it now instead of midnight…"

"Love you too, damn hitman…" The archer groaned sarcastically as the saber's footsteps signified her leave.

With that out of the way, the warlord sat up with a huff. She plucked the craft coin from her pocket and tossed it onto the bed, making a note to put it with the others in her collection bag later. At least they were all the same size which made the possibility of displaying them easier. Perhaps she should get a wall case for the craft coi-

The video intercom soon began beeping, drawing her attention with a raised eyebrow. Nobunaga grumbled as she walked over to the display and pushed the largest button with irritated force; Thankfully the machine was beyond durable. Roman's face appeared on the screen with the summoning chamber clearly in the back.

"Good afternoon, Nobunaga!"

"What's so good about it?" the warlord responded glumly. The doctor scratched the back of his head awkwardly, which matched his uneasy chuckle.

"Well… your second ascension, if you want it. I don't recall a servant not wanting one of those."

The archer's spirits rose quickly at the great news. Ascension was just the term used for a process to increase a servant's magical energy limits. Every heroic spirit had a maximum defined by their saint graph, but this could be increased slightly with a finite number of boosts. Using rare, magical materials as catalysts, quantum pieces can be absorbed by their saint graph to increase their capacity, which boosted a servant's abilities and skills. It was a way to attune a servant closer to their strongest feasible existence, made possible with Scathach's knowledge that allowed Da Vinci to adapt it to the Fate system.

Of course no servant would say no to becoming more powerful. "About time! I was starting to wonder if you forgot about me!"

Roman chuckled again. "Yes, well… your materials are a little unique compared to others. After Billy received his second yesterday, we wound up finding an extra, hidden piece that was unlogged. It's one that corresponded best to your saint graph."

Nobunaga had stopped listening after Roman mentioned a key piece of information. She didn't need to hear his explanation for an ascension, since she could care less how they got the material. What she cared about was the fact Billy was at his second ascension when they had the duel. Her frown increased, pondering if he had known and simply wanted to show off to another firearm user. If that was the case, he was in for serious payback.

Slowly, her sneer turned into a smirk at another, more likely possibility. When they introduced, he apparently had not known she was Oda Nobunaga. Countless have fallen on her war path, and Billy was just going to be another on her tallies, if only through a shooting competition. She was feared and renowned for her action, and some simple American cowboy from the wild west dared to best her legend. Sure it was just a friendly match, but she had her fearsome reputation and pride to protect!

At least some here should see her with fear in their- Doctor Roman cleared his throat, with uncertainty on his face. He had clearly watched the warlord's facial expression shift unnervingly in the silence, and was currently scratching the back of his head again. "Is uh… Are you okay? Not planning another glitter bomb are you? Those are a pain to clean up, even for the robots."

Nobunaga laughed loudly, making the doctor cringe. "I'm fine, Roman! I'm going to be just fine!"

It would not be like his Siege of Mount Hiei, but she was definitely looking to massacre him in their rematc- There was banging on her door again.

"I told you to keep it down, Nobunaga!"

"Just shut up and let me cackle in anticipation, Okita!"

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"Hey, kid! Yesterday was a fluke! I demand a rematch!"

The battle-clad gunslinger turned on his heel in the middle of the hallway, making his spurs clink lightly as Nobunaga marched towards him. With a little extra pride in her swinging arms and step, the demon archer stopped before the cowboy and placed her arms akimbo. Billy simply blinked at the approach, not at all concerned or worried about the girl's unnerving aura she often emanated.

Every human and servant within the facility got used to different presences with time since, in the grand scheme of all things, they just prevented people from getting anywhere or completing tasks in a timely manner. Sometimes a presence had even been influenced by a servant's newfound disposition. Jack the Ripper often had a sense of foreboding, killing intent around her that became much more apparent in battle, but within Chaldea it felt very subdued as of late; They had her adoptive mother to thank for that.

He simply tipped his hat and smiled. "Sure thing, darling. Always fun to play to the gallery! How about tomorrow morning?"

"Don't call me darling," Nobunaga growled. She knew it was a figure of speech with his dialect, but it still irritated her.

"Understood… Let's consider it a slip of the tongue then. I'll keep that in mind from here on," Billy relented with a small shake of his head. Nobunaga silently pondered how many confrontations he's been able to slip out of with his tactful attitude. "Now then, about tomorrow morning when the range opens."

"Good! I didn't want to wait too long!" the warlord chuckled. "Meet you at ten before seven. Don't be late."

Nobunaga quickly marched away from the gunslinger without waiting for a response. Billy simply chuckled at the haughty warlord's leave before turning back down the hall. He failed to notice the warlord's eager grin as she glanced back momentarily, nearly running into a robot without looking. Thankfully their guidance systems were phenomenal, otherwise this one might have had an irritated warlord to answer to.

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The demon archer sat on a crate alongside Billy as they stared at the robots setting up the range. Usually only early birds like Arash or Robin Hood would be here early, but it seems even they were taking a break today. That created a problematic snag for the two, who were currently, silently searching for a judge to their competition. Since the last one didn't have any, Nobunaga had requested there be one this time just to ensure no one was cheating. To her surprise, Billy agreed without even a hint he may have been offended by the insinuation of foul play.

"Do you think we should ask a magus?" There was one Magecraft employee sitting on the other side of the large garage from them. His companions were projecting targets.

"They're not going to see the high-speed rounds with their eyes."

"That's true… Our shooting competition will need a proper judge for that."

"Oh~? I hear something about a shooting competition? Must be some sort of grand prize involved then."

The pair turned towards a tall woman with long, pink hair as she materialized from spirit form; Had she been listening the whole time? She readjusted her captain's hat and lightly tugged on the collar of her red long coat before approaching the duo. A leather band around her chest kept the coat partially closed, which only made her bust appear larger than it already was. The noticeable scar across her face usually drew attention, if she didn't have that gleaming fire of competition in her blue eyes. Her hands rested on two, twin flintlock pistols as her leather boots clicked against the pavement.

"You can't go and have a firearm competition without inviting me," the pirate boasted loudly as she finished her approach with a proud grin.

Billy looked to Nobunaga, slightly concerned she would not take the new addition lightly. To his surprise, the warlord didn't seem phased at the prospect of more competitors. The smirk on her face as she stared at the famous pirate was more than enough evidence for that.

"You want me to show you up too, huh, Drake?" Oda shot back confidently. Beside her, Billy sighed.

"I guess it's no longer just a duel, but anything went in the Wild West. Sure, Francis, you can join," he shrugged. "Still doesn't solve our problem about a proper judge."

Drake shrugged. "We'll just grab the first servant who comes through the door. Big deal."

"And if they don't want to?" Billy asked curiously.

The pirate only laughed. "Not our problem! They should be happy they get front row seat to a spectacular Chaldean gun show!"

"You're always fun to fight beside, Drake!" Nobunaga complimented with a grin as she turned to look at the robots finishing range setup. She wasn't lying, and it was rare for her to give out flattering comments like that. But it was certainly true.

Nobunaga and Drake had fought together on several singularities. Though it had always been in close range, they found their own combat styles rather similar. It was all about showing off for the two of them, and they did their best to be as blinding as possible in those moments. Though she never actually paid close attention to her marksmanship skills, it was simply the act of showcasing proudly who they were that made them mutually respect each other. But that respect would be left in check when the competition started; Nobunaga had no intention of losing after receiving her ascen-

"Hey! No! You got the wrong idea! I'm not hurt! I've just been sitting on my leg too long and it lost circulation!"

"Just hold still. You'll feel your leg again soon enough. I promise."

The shrieking in horror was accompanied by Drake's laughter. Nobunaga turned back in confusion, apparently having missed something develop. She followed Billy's confused stare towards the crates on the opposite side to see the mage employees now taking shelter in the garage. Many were staring at the lone magus who had been sitting there waiting in a Chaldean long coat. Nobunaga hid her own laughter as she spotted the newly arrived servant leaning over him… drawing a scalpel from the leather pack with red medical cross.

"Lost circulation… I see. I'll have to make this quick then," the pink haired berserker observed casually. Her black, officer's trench coat reached to her knees and waved in the small breeze, with the hem of a black skirt peeking from underneath. A black beanie covered the top of her long, braided pink hair. She took another step forward in her silver boots as she pulled a unique revolver from under her coat. Her red eyes glinted with purpose, making the magus' blood drain from his face.

"No! Please, Nightingale! It's not that bad! See! I can move! I can move!" The employee yelled as he began bolting towards the range.

"No running on the range!" Drake yelled while laughing, making the employee trip and fall into the snow face first. Almost everyone was laughing at this point.

Nightingale watched in anticipation as he quickly got up and made a show of being perfectly fine. With a slow exhale, she returned the pistol to its holster under her coat, and casually placed the scalpel back in her medical bag. She turned to the trio of shooters as Nobunaga and Drake clapped at her performance. Billy, who had never seen something like that before, simply blinked in confusion. Nobunaga noticed and chuckled, patting him on the back roughly.

"You've met Nightingale, right?" Nobunaga asked as the warlord waved her over. She began her approach.

"I thought the Angel of Crimea seemed rather normal for a berserker…"

"Oh, she is," Drake commented before sitting on the crate. "She's just hard to talk to sometimes, especially when there's treatments involved."

"What in tarnation…"

"It's rude to speak of others like they're not here," Nightingale commented as she approached the group. Other servants and the last volunteer employees were now starting to fill the garage behind her. "Now, did you require something?"

"I thought you were taking a break to play cards with Beowulf," Drake noted as she crossed her arms. Every time the range ran, a servant would oversee its operational safety. It was random at first, but now Nightingale was usually the officers since it was only open three days a week.

"We moved it to last night with Asterios since Euryale yelled at him for an undisclosed reason. Beowulf wanted to cheer him up."

"Well since you're here… Mind if you judge a shooting competition? It's between Billy, Nobunaga, and I."

Nightingale raised her eyebrows in surprise. She glanced towards the other servants then back to the group. "I wouldn't mind, but we need to ask the others. You need proper space and target count."

Drake waved her hand dismissively. "They'll agree to it. Not every day you get a grand shootout like this!"

"You sure you don't wanna join in yourself instead? More the merrier?" Oda asked with a tilt of her head, which was quickly answered by a shake of Nightingale's own. It seems she was more interested in judging after all. Nobunaga was partially glad she didn't have a fourth competitor, but also dismayed she couldn't personally defeat another firearm user.

"Oh sure, invite the whole range at this point," Billy sighed in exasperation. He had agreed to a rematch, not a free for all.

"Oh relax, kid. I'm sure the others would rather watch the shootout, right? You guys wanna see a gun show to remember?" Nobunaga exclaimed happily. The response was surprising, and near unanimous.

Billy sighed. It appeared a break from the routine was appealing for the usual range attendees.

¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ VI ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨

The trio were lined up, a port separating each from the others. Drake looked to her left to see Nobunaga priming her hand-held matchlocks, then to her right as Billy calmly stood with a hand hovering above his revolver. To the side, Nightingale stood watch with an employee from the magecraft division who would help with the competition. Between her improved vision as a servant and the helper controlling when targets appear, the scoring would be perfect. Behind them was a small gathering of servants and employees who have come to watch the shootout as word quickly spread to the nearby wing.

Nobunaga grinned to herself as Drake spun her twin flintlocks in anticipation; This was going to be fun!

"Remember the deal! You'll be adding to my trove in no time!" Drake proclaimed proudly as Nobunaga laughed next to her.

"Losers forfeit a portion of recovered currency from their next mission to the winner. I can't wait to get a piece of your next haul," Nobunaga smirked. It had been a condition they added last minute to increase the pressure, in addition to craft coin and noble phantasm limits. The competitive flame was in full blaze among the trio as Drake laughed in response. The pirate was really glad she included the bet to spice things up, because it definitely worked as Nobunaga smirked towards them. "I've stolen victory from many overconfident enemies. Prepare to join their ranks!"

"Reckon I got no other choice then… Prepare to fork your winnings over to a true dead eye," Billy chuckled as he got himself immersed. This was going to get loud, and while he was secretly not a fan of that, it's not like he had much of a say at this point. With all the boisterous servants and their fighting styles, he needed to get used to it sooner or later.

"I see the contestants are ready," Nightingale stated as she nodded to her temporary assistant. The middle aged, dark haired man pressed a few buttons on a remote he held.

"Robots are returning to the firing line, ma'am. The targets are ready to pop up at random," the man said with a small smile.

The woman nodded towards him. "Thanks, Daryl. Once the robots return, I will start the countdown. On the mark of fire, weapons are free to be discharged."

Nobunaga nodded, and quietly psyched herself up further. This small achievement was nothing compared to what she did in her real life, but there was only so much to do in Chaldea. The thought of more bragging rights, especially to use against Okita, were always a nice addition so things didn't get old. There was also that pride to keep against Billy, and her second ascension was sure to guarantee her edge over him. There was still the matter of Drake, who was a wild card, but she silently figured she could topple her too. She wasn't a famous warlord of Japan for nothing.

"Five!"

Oda grinned eagerly, and gripped the two matchlocks in her hands. Two more rifles floated above her shoulders.

"Four!"

Billy blinked, but when his eyelids lifted, his gaze was sharper than newly forged blades.

"Three!"

Drake spun her pistols by the trigger guards before gripping the handles, stopping their rotation. She held them at an angle in front of her.

"Two!"

Nightingale glanced down the line as if she could see the newly formed tension before turning towards the target gallery. She raised her hand high.

"One!"

One of the robots floated next to Daryl, holding up a monitor. He pressed a button on the side and red lights flared alive above the firing ports, signifying the line was hot. The employee turned and gave a thumbs up to the servant next to him. She nodded in reply, and dropped her raised hand swiftly.

"FIR-"

Leather shifted. Before she finished yelling the word, Billy had flipped the revolver out of his holster, drawn back the hammer, and let loose a round down range with a crack. A single target fell with a hole clear through the center torso within a fraction of a second after the competition started. Billy smirked and brought his opposing hand over to begin fanning the hammer. Another target swiftly fell to his quick target acquisition before the sounds of Oda's firearms burst from the barrels of her matchlocks, striking two targets for her count.

'No cutting corners this time,' Nobunaga reminded herself. Two of her floating rifles opened fire to hit only one target since the accuracy of her hovering armaments regrettably lacking. She had let them fire at separate targets before, sometimes causing both shots to miss. She would not allow that to happen with two opponents.

Drake broke out of her momentary shock to fire two rounds simultaneously into two separate targets; Billy may have a legendary quick-draw, but she had her own tricks up her sleeve. Ordinary flintlocks would never keep up with the rapid pace of the more recent Colt 1783. Pirates increased rate of fire by carrying several loaded pistols around their neck to fire and discard when boarding hostile ships. Drake had no need for such waste as new rounds, charges, and flints materialized instantly for her pistols, resetting them near instantaneously. She fired a new volley and took down one more target while the oth-

"Damnit!" She frowned as the second round lost the race to the next target to a shot fired from her left.

Oda might not have the precise ability to reload her arquebuses in the same manner as Drake, but who needed to specialize in that when you could just call a new, loaded rifle from thin air? As swiftly as she squeezed the trigger on her rifle and the round flew out of the barrel, she threw it backwards with one motion and summoned a new one into her grip. Two floating rifles fired, only to disappear to be replaced by new ones. As she was bringing the new one down on another target, she simultaneously fired a round from the one in her other hand-

She cursed loudly as the round made its way down range to a now falling target, hit by one of Billy's shots barely milliseconds after her discharge. She redoubled her efforts and increased her rate of fire; She decided to fire at as many targets as possible indiscriminately instead of wasting time acquiring "safe" targets. The warlord would not be defeated again.

"Like hell you're winning!" Nobunaga yelled as her volume of fire increased.

"Not on my watch, Oda!" Drake countered as she also stepped up her game. Billy aimed at a new tar- it began its decent.

He grit his teeth at Nobunaga and Drake's sudden barrage of rounds down range that changed the situation, but he quickly formed a plan. The revolver couldn't compete with their rate of fire in its entirety due to the maximum capacity of the cylinder and lack of magical reload, but he could certainly deal with targets in a smarter fashion. Thanks to the shootouts and duels he had during his life, he was able to glimpse a rough trajectory for rounds, but not a precise one. He just needed to- there!

With a smile, he squeezed the trigger and let a round hunt its prey. The round impacted a target before one of Drake's rounds could strike first, much to her displeasure. It seemed all Billy needed was the general path of the round to guess which was the intended target. The gunslinger then let loose one of his own rounds to counter it since his projectiles flew through the air at a much higher velocity. Every successful attempt meant an opponent's shot was wasted, and Odaa worried his newfound, legal sabotage could- His sudden smirk confirmed her suspicions.

Nobunaga saw Billy glance towards her as a round left the barrel of a matchlock. His eyes gauged the flight path. He then fired his round at an intersecting target with the results as good as he imagined. The shot glanced off of her projectile, sending it on a diverted path, but also corrected his round's flight to strike a target before Drake's shot could impact. It was a stunning maneuver even Nobunaga had to bitterly give praise to. If he kept pulling off trick shots like that than he could still pull a victory, and that concerned the warlord greatly.

"Quality over quantity, girls." He chuckled as he kept firing. He'd have to thank Annie for showing him trick shots.

Drake caught on to Billy's schemes and decided to throw one of her own into play. Her superior fire rate was being matched by Oda's absurd technique, but she could still improve the quality of the barrage. Strengthening her projectiles, she smirked and placed her high luck parameter into play. She fired a round while moving her pistol. The round's trajectory shifted, throwing off Billy's interception calculations, only for the round to strike through the targe- It flew on its curved path through another! Drake smirked at her play and mentally confirmed to throw in those specialized shots when the shot opportunity presented itself.

"You gotta do better than that to keep up with El Draque!" Drake boasted proudly.

Nobunaga was now growling. This was supposed to be her victory, yet her opponent's skills were making this a serious challenge. But still, as she growled, she found herself smirking. The better the challenge, the greater the reward tasted afterwards. She would win this and prove the supremacy of the great Oda Nobunaga!

They needed to be countered at the same time. She now summoned rifles six at a time, which made it harder to spot which one aimed where. All of them quickly kept firing, though it was difficult managing this many rifles at once. Her accuracy was certainly dropping, but the sheer volume had countered Billy's attempts of sabotage. In addition, her sporadic shots were now sometimes deflecting off her opponent's rounds. It was a chaotic strategy, but it was almost akin to the early days of using arquebuses in his campaigns. They were never as reliable as their later counterparts, so they had to be made up in volume.

She did win several major battles with these prized weapons, after all. "Do not think for a second you will defeat me here!"

The audience watched the trio fire off enough rounds to give modern suppression fire a run for its money. Besides the small gaps to throw them off, likely Daryl purposefully waiting to raise new targets, their chained shots were a continuous rattling. Some of the audience was torn from who to root for and who to pay attention to, with non-servants having a much more difficult time figuring out what was going on with their average eyesight. There was a small group whose amusement was solely on a janitorial robot attempting to clean up Nobunaga's discarded rifles.

Its processor could not register the weapons disappearing faster than it attempted to pick them up.

Nightingale mentally kept track of the targets to each competitor. To most it would have seemed a crazy task, but to a heroic spirit who had to keep track of several patients' conditions that changed almost unnoticeably, it was just another task. She watched with precise eyes as round after round impacted targets, finding some amusement in Billy's interesting method to stay in the race. Nobunaga's was simply another reminder of the chaotic battlefields and sanitation conditions she often saw in her early career.

After only another minute of continuous barrage fire, the shots halted as targets ceased to appear. The nurse looked towards her helper who nodded in confirmation. She let out a sigh as the three competitors turned their attention towards her, each with a mental count of their targets in case there was a dispute.

Nobunaga was grinning. If it was similar to the previous day, then by her count she had already won. There were a hundred twenty targets last time, so if they kept the hidden number the same, she already had half of the targets to her name. That would mean sixty points would need to go to another competitor solely for them to even tie with her, yet both were clearly hitting targets. She was about to prematurely yell in triumph, had a final thought not crossed her mind and braced her for the coming news.

The thought that the number of targets increased since there were more competitors. Battle reports often told a different story.

"It appears we have a dilemma," Nightingale announced, raising several eyebrows. "I was not expecting a three way tie between our gunners at sixty targets each."

The trio's eyes widened as one as they looked at each other, mentally confirming that the nurse was correct. There was a round of applause as the audience clearly thought that was a more interesting outcome than one of them winning. As their gazes turned to glares, Nightingale cleared her throat regaining their attention. "The mages have begun projecting new targets so we can break the tie. After a twenty-minute intermission, we will start a new round to determine a victor."

Nobunaga grumbled to herself as she dematerialized her rifles. The warlord began her trudge to the garage as Drake and Billy followed behind her, clearly as disappointed as the demon archer. She silently decided she would go to the cafeteria to grab a breakfast snack before heading back. Twenty minutes was plenty of time to do that, especially if she started over now in spirit form.

¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ VII ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨

Nobunaga finished chewing on a rice crispy cereal bar as she walked up to the line. Drake and Billy were already in position waiting, but she wasn't late. The warlord had been sitting on one of the crates, eating her chosen breakfast in peaceful solitude while fuming over the situation. As she took her spot, she shot a glance towards the other two were clearly as eager to claim victory.

"Sure those snacks aren't going to slow you down?" Drake quipped with a smirk.

"You're going to need all the handicaps you can get this time!" Nobunaga retorted.

A robot hovered over to the judging servant and her assistant. It presented the employee with a remote as before, signifying setup completion. Daryl nodded and flipped a few switches on the device, before giving another thumbs up to Nightingale. "Round two ready!"

Nightingale smiled. "Competitors, take your positions."

The trio retook their stances. Drake mentally prepared to double her reloading speed. Billy flipped the flaps on his pouches to speed up his loading process. Nobunaga now had eight rifles floating over her shoulders, as many as she could feasibly fit in her port without going over the boundaries or slowing her handheld reload. This was borderline absurd on her part, but she did not want to lose. If this was going to be an all-out war, she would gladly unleash shotgun volleys down range to claim her supremacy.

She didn't even bother responding to Drake's incredulous stare at the comical number of floating rifles.

Nightingale took this as the cue to begin the countdown anew, and she did so. Her countdown was the same and ended with Billy once more quick-drawing and blasting a round into a target down range to take the initial lead.

Drake and Nobunaga began their own signature barrages. Billy began his round interception plays. More cleverly placed, new tricks appeared from the trio in an attempt to confuse the other competitors. Drake double shot at a target to prevent a satisfactory interception by the kid. The warlord fired a single volley at a trio of newly popped targets to secure the points. Billy fired a round and took down two targets before they properly lined up from movement paths.

They had changed everything in their personal strategies. Nobunaga even dematerialized rifles at different times to create a slight mist of dematerializing prana around her, making it harder to read her shots. Her mind raced to keep up with the other two, and she found her strategic mind was still being matched by them. It irritated her, but at the same time made her content. She was among competent heroes of different ages, and only they could provide her a real challenge in this situation. In any other situation, she would be silently glad they had her back.

Right now, she was just angry they weren't letting her win easily.

The barrage continued for sixty seconds only to end in the silence that followed the first round as they awaited the results. To their dismay, the tally was rather quick and the surprised look from Nightingale did not help. After Daryl scratched his head, the nurse sighed and looked towards them while shaking her head. At that point, they already knew the answer before she spoke. Collectively, they began their own forms of complaining.

"Another three-way tie."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Nobunaga yelled. The other two thought the same, but didn't voice it, as they glared at each other in discontent.

"This is getting ridiculous," Billy groaned. "How had a simple rematch turn into this mess?"

"The mages have prepped another count in case the same happened again," Nightingale announced as Daryl played with the remote. "We have one final round of targets, with this one having an odd number to ensure no further ties. A winner will be determined this round."

"Heh, I'm glad you can keep up with me. I don't like the idea of almost losing to servants not on my level," Drake boasted through grit teeth.

"The great warlord commends your abilities to wage this war on equal footing," Oda admitted begrudgingly.

"Reckon I haven't had a duel this intense in a long while," Billy stated. "But it ends here, ladies…"

Three gazes grew colder than the surrounding atmosphere as Nightingale prepared to make the countdown. The three competitors prepared for the final round, with Billy even resting his hand on his revolver to state his dead serious intent. Nobunaga and Drake had their weapons aimed in preparation to blast the first targets down. The warlord's gaze narrowed, fully determined to take home the grand prize.

Nightingale began her countdown as the crowd looked to the line enthusiastically. With word having spread to the cafeteria, the audience had grown by two dozen as those with no previous interest suddenly found an intriguing show being performed by the noisy gunslingers. The tense atmosphere could be cut with a knife, as Nightingale reached the end of her countdown as several murmurs erupted from the audience. The trio paid the disturbance no attention, especially Nobunaga as she gripped her matchlocks harder.

In hindsight, she should have. The final round did not start with Nightingale's opening call. It didn't begin with the solid report from Billy's revolver. Not even the barrage of Oda or Drake's guns cued the last act.

In fact, the final round didn't even begin at all.

But, as the trio realized with eyes wide in complete surprise, the revving of a Gatling gun did.

¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨(¯ˆ·.¸ VIII ¸.·ˆ¯)¨·..·¨·..·¨·..·¨

"Senpai… please get up."

Gudao grumbled as he felt two hands shaking him awake. The owner of said limbs was currently calling his name, or at least her particular nickname for him. He hesitantly opened his eyes to see warm, violet eyes gazing into his from behind eyeglasses. With a small smile, he instantly recognized of his personal assistant and closest servant, Mashu, standing next to his bed with some worry etched over her face.

She brushed one of her large, pink bang to the side. Unlike him in his sleep clothes, she currently wore the Chaldea assistant's uniform with red magecraft tie. The jacket was replaced with a sweater of similar design. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes and sitting up, Gudao groaned as he scratched the front of his white shirt. His legs remained under the blanket, basking in its continued warmth. "Good morning, Mashu… I believe I'm allowed to oversleep today."

"Senpai, Doctor and Da Vinci need you at the shooting range as soon as possible," Mashu stated quickly, hands folded in front of her. She played nervously with her fingers, a cute gesture she often did… when something unexpected and serious happened.

'Did she say shooting range!?' Gudao's mind flew into overdrive as he rubbed the sleep form his eyes in panic. "Mashu, what happened!? Is anyone hurt!?"

"Um… No, but Nobunaga's throwing a fit and threatening to prank bomb people for having her competition interrupted. But that's not the real issue."

"…I'm afraid to ask, but if Nobunaga isn't somehow the real problem, then what is?"

"Lancelot heard of a shooting competition with guns and got a little... excited," Mashu explained hesitantly. She smiled at him sympathetically for the next part she knew he always hated. "No one was hurt, but the range and several robots need some repairs... Doctor Roman has paperwork that needs to be filled after you survey the damage."

Gudao stared at her blankly before turning to the nearby screen. 0820.

"...I wanted to sleep until ten." he groaned as he covered his hands with his face. Mashu rubbed his back with a sympathetic smile.