See you again, people! Here is the next chapter of this story. As you can see, this chapter ended up being quite long by the standards of this story, and I decided not to include the entire end of this story in this chapter.
But, you will have action from beginning to end, so prepare the OST of your preference if you want to get more into the atmosphere. As for King of Fakers' fight, since it is not the only one that this chapter has, I always say in the final parts of my stories that you mut prepare the Emiya theme, but this time, my recommendation would be the OST Mighty Wind. People of culture will be able to intuit what Archer will use to defeat Achilles.
Without further ado, let the final battle begin!
Disclaimer I don't own any right over Type-Moon or the Fate franchise.
The sun had already set long ago. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon crossed the skies already outside Romania with apparent tranquility. However, that wouldn't last long.
Amakusa Shirou had just entered the Great Grail, with the intention of setting in motion the miracle of the salvation of mankind once and for all.
Just before, he had had a conversation with Caster, William Shakespeare. As one of the most famous writers of tragedies in the world, the former Ruler servant asked him if he intended to make his story a tragedy.
This one responded by saying that, although it was very tempting, to see events unfold without his interference would be much more interesting. The man was really ecstatic to see which dream would triumph over the other.
His 'loyalty' was assured, only Assassin remained. Assyria's Queen did not have a very good track record in terms of loyalty. She herself confessed that she would like to see Shirou fall into despair, but deep down, she really wanted to see him succeed, see how far that man would go.
The talks were interrupted when Rider warned them of an imminent attack by the enemy.
Caster returned to his workshop, while Assassin immediately went to the throne room where the remaining servants of the red faction were gathered.
Already seated on her throne, through a projected image she could see what Rider was referring to. From the clouds had appeared a commercial plane, and was heading at great speed towards her flying fortress.
"Get ready to intercept them. Rider, first you will crush the enemy with your flying chariot." Semiramis, as her absent master's representative, issued her orders quickly.
"Not that I mid, but that will take quite some time to do it."
"Huh?" Assassin questioned the normally confident servant. However, another look at the projected image sufficed to understand what he meant. "What is this?"
The plane she had seen was not the only one. About twenty other planes were with it. But, that was not the only problem.
"Their magic energy signatures are too vague, you can't tell who's on each plane. Maybe thanks to some kind of bounded field."
"Save one exception." As the hero of charity said, the figure of a servant could be distinguished on the plane in the front.
It was Ruler. She was standing imposing on the head of the plane, with her banner in her hand waving and a look full of determination.
Rider looked at Archer with some concern. She had been rather gloomy the last few days, although she did not seem to be filled with hatred. Rather, she was full of doubts. Her stoic expression hardly changed when she saw the holy maiden.
"Trying to fool us with numbers? However, that's not enough to reach my Hanging Gardens. It can blow up all those metal bodies with ease. Rider, you go settle scores with those servants once and for all."
"Yosh! That steel junk will scatter along with Archer of Black." Trojan hero's expression showed a battle-hungry smile.
"I'll leave it to you. Archer, you are in charge of support. Aim at the masters."
"I refuse." Her answer, despite her flat tone, was blunt.
"Excuse me?"
"I agreed to work with you to achieve my wish, and shooting kids goes against it."
In fact, according to their information, the remaining masters of the black faction, with the exception of Saber of Black's, were quite young.
"Archer..." The Queen looked at the rebellious servant with annoyance and proceeded to rebuke her.
But, Rider stepped in to calm things down. "It's fine, Queen. While I'm dealing with Archer of Black, Sis can take on Ruler."
Well, she wanted to confront Archer of Black to resolve her doubts, but Rider was really insistent on fighting him, so she'd settle for settling scores with that murder pretending to be a saint.
After a few tense moments, Assassin let it go. "Fine. Then I shall face Rider of Black. Lancer, you will be our last line of defense and you will face Saber of Black."
"Got it."
"Now depart! The Great Grail is ours!"
On board the planes, Ruler and the servants of the black faction observed the flying fortress as they drew ever closer to it.
Although they had seen it before, and even been inside, it was still an impressive sight. It was amazing how something so huge and heavy could fly with apparent ease, especially with the huge hole Archer made to it on the side.
But this was no time to marvel at a mystery of the age of the gods.
"Amakusa Shirou Tohkisada!" Ruler shouted at the top of her lungs the name of the leader of the enemy faction, as if it were a battle cry.
"Lower your voice, how unsightly." The response was immediate. A projected image showing Assassin of Red appeared before Jeanne. "My master is busy trying to save mankind with the Great Grail. We have no time for you right now."
"Assassin of Red... is he really trying to save mankind with the Great Grail?"
"Who knows. But if you want to stop my master, you must reach him. Moreover, you must overcome the servants first!
With that said, the image faded, and a huge prana beam was fired from the fortress. The attack went through one of the planes, splitting it in half like a fragile twig.
As if this were the starting gun, what looked like a green comet came out of the flying fortress and went at an enormous speed towards the black servants.
"Archer of Black!" It was Rider of Red, riding on his battle chariot. All his attention and thirst for battle was focused on the white-haired archer. "The time has come! Let's enjoy this fight to the fullest!"
In response to his statement, Ruler and Saber felt a great accumulation of prana and bloodlust near them.
Archer held his huge black bow firmly with his left hand, while with the other hand he pull back the bowstring with the 'arrow' that emitted that bloodlust. It was a black sword that had been twisted around a thin core, and with all the prana that had been pumped into it, it was emitting a crimson aura.
"Hrunting!" With his eyes fixed on his target, Archer shouted the name of the noble phantasm and released the bowstring.
The roar of the Red Plains Hound rumbled as it turned into a magic bullet and 'killed' the distance between it and its prey.
Rider saw the projectile come towards him at a speed several times higher than the sound, and made his chariot rise rapidly upwards to avoid its trajectory.
His reaction time had been perfect, and he would have prevented the attack, if it were a normal arrow. However, Hrunting would not stop pursuing its prey as long as Archer considered him his target.
The magic bullet 'bent', correcting its trajectory to the most optimal path to reach the flying chariot.
The impact was imminent and inevitable. The night lit up in crimson with the energy released in the crash.
Rider went out of the smoke practically unharmed. Seeing that dodging was not possible, he decided to concentrate all the overflowing energy of his noble phantasm on defense, resisting the impact of Beowulf's sword.
The chariot reset its trajectory to the plane where Archer was, and it would only take a few seconds to cross the distance.
But, this was already within Archer's plans. Practically just as he fired the noble phantasm, traced a second Hrunting, loaded it into the bow and began pouring prana into it.
It would take about twenty seconds to prepare it, accumulating more energy than the previous one. It was a strategy that consisted of shooting five consecutive Hruntings, each with more magical energy than the previous one, and thus taking five seconds more for each shot. The first four shots would weaken the opponent's defenses, and the fifth and most powerful shot would finish him.
The only flaw in this strategy was the time between each shot, but it could be easily compensated, as Archer could shoot targets four kilometers away.
However, on this occasion, although there was quite a distance between them, Rider could cross it before he could shoot. And besides, Archer was also moving towards his opponent.
Therefore, the nameless archer was forced to improvise. Imitating the battle tactic of the King of Heroes, about twenty noble phantasms appeared above him, their blades pointing to the Greek hero.
They were all anti-immortal weapons, and they were fired in unison. This forced Rider to redirect his trajectory to dodge the weapons, giving Archer the time to finish preparing the second Hrunting.
The bowstring was released again, and the blood-thirsty magic bullet struck Achilles' noble phantasm. The night lit up again in the light of the crash.
Rider repeated his earlier tactic. It was the only thing he could do against that attack, although he could see his defences dwindling with the second shot.
He finally reached Archer's plane, passing through and destroying it as if it were made of sandpaper. King of Fakers leapt from the wreckage, toward the plane on his right, pushing the fight away so his allies could proceed without intervention.
Seeing that Rider was following him closely, and it would take him only a few seconds to get through the plane he was on, he immediately jumped to another plane. In the middle of the air he projected an E rank nameless noble phantasm, altered it, loaded it into his bow and shot it aiming at the welding of the left wing of the plane he had just been on.
The projectile exploded on impact, tearing off the wing and causing the plane to destabilize and turn to obstruct Rider's view.
The distraction lasted only a few seconds, before the chariot passed through as if nothing, but it was enough time for Archer to project another round of anti-immortal noble phantasms and shoot them.
Rider was again forced to keep his distance and dodge the legendary weapons that were fired at him like mere arrows. The third Hrunting was loaded into the black bow, and the process was repeated.
It was a strategy very expensive on prana, but if Archer wanted to win, the first step was to get Rider off his flying chariot. Besides, he was no longer sparing to use his master's prana to not tire her. It would be an insult to do so after she got her resolve to fight in this battle.
Meanwhile, the arrows soon rained down with emerald trails on Archer's allies. Most of them aimed at Ruler.
She quickly spun her banner in front of her, blocking and deflecting most of the projectiles. The metal around her was quickly filled with holes, but nothing that would compromise the aircraft.
Seeing that the normal projectiles wouldn't work, Atalanta loaded a single arrow into Tauropolos and poured a moderate amount of prana into it. Her bow was a weapon blessed by the gods, and by drawing it to its limits, its arrows would have a force of impact equivalent to a A rank .
She released the bowstring, her impassive gaze did not change at any time. She had come to the conclusion that, in order to prevent a tragedy like Assassin's from recurring, all she could do was to help her current master in his ridiculous plan.
She still had doubts, and still didn't like the man and his servant, but the odds of Archer of Black beating a hero like Achilles were miniscule. Therefore, she put aside her doubts, and focused solely on bringing down her opponents
Just as she fired her arrow, another huge prana beam was fired by the defenses of The Hanguing Gardens. The ray struck Ruler's banner, and her enormous magical resistance made it bounce back, destroying Archer of Red's arrow.
"Tsk." That did upset Atalanta, her expression filling with annoyance and displeasure. That woman really gets on her nerve.
The chaste hunter jumped from her firing spot. "Assassin, take me to where Ruler is!"
If they were to get in the way of each other while shooting at the enemy servants, the best thing to do was to head there for a one-on-one duel without interruption.
Apparently, Assassin at least listened to her when a magic circle appeared beneath her, and when she crossed it, she was teleported right on top of the plane Ruler was on.
Without wasting time, Atalanta bombarded the holy maiden with her arrows. This one was forced to zigzag along the surface, evading as she could the projectiles that were said to pierce through anything.
Archer of Red landed on the other side of the aircraft, and they both looked into each other's eyes. The tension in the environment was enormous, but there were no traces of anger or hatred in either. The environment could be described as a deadly calm.
"Archer of Red... are you really going to follow that man's absurd plan?"
"I'm not going to listen to what a fake saint like you tells me. The miracle that man plans to accomplish will prevent that tragedy from happening again. And if you stand in the way, I will destroy you."
"Unfortunately, that's something I can't allow. So, I won't hesitate to destroy you either."
With deadly glances, both servants began their battle.
Assassin's attention then focused on Rider of Black. He had put himself in front of the planes, challenging her directly.
"Wasn't the last time enough? I don't know what plan they have, but they won't come out alive." She just looked at him annoyingly.
"Heh, this time it will be different." The pink-haired servant responded with confidence.
Legends said the moon had robbed the hero Astolfo of his sanity. That night there was no moon, so it could be said that the servant had finally become serious and was going with everything.
"Hold on tight, master!"
"Okay. Let's go!"
The hyppogriff wove between the rain of prana beams that the fortress fired to try to shoot them down. Their target was the huge rock slabs with intricate runes that constituted Assassin's defences.
When they were close to the first, it again fired the huge prana beam. Assassin smiled with confidence. There was no way they could resist the most powerful attack of her Hanguing Gardens.
But, Astolfo proved her wrong. He summoned his grimoire and proceeded to pronounce its true name.
"Casseur de Logistille!" The pages of the noble phantasm shone with a golden light and levitated to form a barrier in front of the servant.
The prana beam struck the barrier, and to Semiramis' immense surprise, it was unable to break through. The hypogriff continued to advance as if nothing, as the beam scattered like a cascade crashing into a rock.
"Take a look! This is the true power of this book! It's great! This is not a problem!"
Finally they reached the first defense. Rider raised his spear, and pushed it forward like a whip, piercing the rock and destroying it. Without stopping for a second, master and servant headed for the second defense.
"I see. They were hiding something like this. But, it seems that that noble phantasm only works as a defense against my magecraft. Lancer, they are approaching. Bring them down."
Observing the situation, Assassin ordered Lancer, their last line of defense, to intervene.
The second defense was easily traversed, but, when they reached the third, they met the hero of charity, standing stunning upon it.
"My apologies, but you're going down." With that statement, he jumped at them at great speed with his flame prana burst.
"Your show ends now." His golden spear pierced the hypogriff mercilessly, but he frowned when he noticed no resistance. Both the beast and the riders disappeared in specks of light.
"Dimensional shift!" That was the only conclusion Lancer could reach. Seconds later, he was pulled out of his stupor by a voice behind him.
"You are exactly right!"
Without stopping to think, the Indian servant turned quickly, swinging his spear to cut his opponent. But, again, its blade just cut empty air.
"I am speechless. To think that a hero like you would exist in this world." He praised as he turned in the direction in which he now felt the presence of Astolfo.
"Your compliments please me greatly. It may be something like a limited-time event, but I'm special tonight. You better not let down your guard!"
More than a fight between the two servants, it was more of a chase. Rider could not hope to match in brute power a divine spirit like Karna, but that was not necessary.
His goal was to destroy the fortress's defenses, so he just dodged with his dimensional shift Lancer's flames. The speed that this one reached using his prana burst was on par with that of Rider's hyppogriff, so it became a drag race.
And Astolfo had the odds against. Using that ability in such an abusive way was draining his reserves quickly. Even if Sieg could replenish them as quickly, the enormous strain of using it was building up.
However, the aid came in the form of a silver blur that crashed into Karna.
With the defenses distracted and aimed at Rider, and half of them already destroyed, the plane Saber was on had been able to get close enough for him to intervene.
Both servants crashed into one of the huge rock slabs and passed through, landing at the flying fortress.
Karna's eyes shone as he recognized his new opponent. "I see that you have come to fulfill your promise, Saber of Black."
"Of course. It is time to end our duel and enjoy this fight. Get ready, Lancer of Red!"
Karna watched as this time, Siegfried was no longer full of doubts and oppressed by his master's orders. This one now shed a huge will to fight and determination. He could not prevent a smile from peering out at his lips.
Both servants threw themselves at each other. The clash of their weapons staggered the whole place, starting a battle of titans.
Wishing their ally luck, Sieg and Astolfo continued their task.
In a short time, there were only two defenses left, but, Rider had more and more trouble keeping his noble phantasm active.
"Only... two... more..." Not only was he, but his hypogriff was also reaching its limit.
The bombardment of prana beams began to slowly overwhelm them. Just before the penultimate defense, one of these grazed Rider's leg, leaving it in the flesh.
He endured the pain with sheer determination. If he fell, not only would his master die, but Ruler and Archer would not be able to board the fortress and stop Amakusa Shirou.
The penultimate defense was barely traversed. In front of them was the last one, which was beginning to charge another of those huge prana beams.
Rider turned to look at Sieg, his expression extremely serious. "Master, will you stay with this failure of a hero until the end?"
This one responded equally earnestly. "Of course yes, Rider. I fully trust you. Let's do this together."
"Okay then. Here we go!"
Taking the resistance of the hypogriff to its limits, master and servant threw themselves without a shred of fear on their faces toward the last defense.
The prana ray was fired, but they did not change their trajectory. They plunged into it without thinking, with their goal being the only thing in their mind.
Soon after, the defense shattered. From the dust and debris, the figures of Rider and Sieg fell to the fortress.
His mount had vanished, and with his last strength, Astolfo clutched his master and turned his back so he would be the one who hit the ground.
After the crash, Sieg, being the least injured of the two, got up as best he could and looked with concern at his servant.
"Rider, are you okay?"
This one, with great effort, answered him. "I am still... alive. Don't worry... master, I just need... to rest a little."
That eased Sieg a bit, but they didn't have time to relax.
"To think that a little girl like you and a homunculus could damage my Hanging Gardens..."
Assassin of Red appeared near them, and by her expression, she was not very happy. She raised her hands, and several magic circles appeared above her.
"Die."
With Astolfo in such a pitiful condition, Sieg would have to be the one to defeat the servant in front of them.
"By my command seal I-" He prepared to transform his body into Siegfried's with his command seals, but was interrupted by the sound of an engine.
"What!?"
They both looked in the direction it came from, and saw a small plane descending directly towards them. It was the small plane in which Saber of Red and their master traveled, which had slipped because of the heat of battle.
"I came to take back the Holy Grail, you turtle bug woman!" Mordred's voice was clearly heard despite the distance.
"Saber!" Assassin spat out the name with disgust as she prepared a barrier to block the incoming attack.
Sieg could only see stunned as the plane crashed into the servant in a kamikaze attack, releasing a large explosion.
Without much thought, he grabbed Rider carefully, loaded him on his shoulders and got out of there as quickly as possible.
As he ran without a fixed course, something in the sky caught his attention. Forcing his eyes, he could see the figure of Ruler falling toward the fortress, with Archer of Red following her closely.
Rider observed his master's worried look. "Master, go... I will stay here... resting."
Sieg opened his mouth to answer him, but closed it again when he saw his eyes. He nodded and, after gently leaving Astolfo on a pillar, ran to where Ruler had landed.
Jeanne had been pressured by Atalanta's great agility. She had been bombarded with arrows from all angles, without having the opportunity to land a decisive blow.
The plane could not stand the fight, and ended up being shattered. Luckily, she ended up landing in the flying fortress.
Without losing a single second, she raised her head to look at her opponent. Atalanta was still several meters above, and instead of shooting at her, she aimed two arrows at the sky.
Jeanne's eyes opened as she recognized that this was the activation of her noble phantasm, Phoebus Catastrophe.
The two arrows disappeared in the sky, and shortly after, thousands of powerful projectiles descended upon her. An attack comparable even to the rain of swords that had descended upon Caster's noble phantasm within Archer's reality marble.
She immediately prepared her banner to display her defensive noble phantasm, Luminosite Eternelle, but was interrupted.
"Balmung!"
A huge blue wave of prana passed over her head, spraying all the projectiles from Archer of Red's noble phantasm.
Seconds later, her eyes saw Saber of Black land in front of her, but her ability as Ruler to discern a servant's identity did not say the same.
"Sieg? What are you doing here?"
He answered her without turning, his gaze fixed on Atalanta, who had landed a few meters in front of them.
"Leave her to me, Ruler. You go and stop Amakusa Shirou."
Seeing his resolution, she didn't bother to argue with him. Nor did they have the luxury of wasting their time doing so. Instead, she wished him luck and ran to the inside of the fortress.
"Are you going to stand in my way too, boy? You saw Assassin's past as well, so you should know that what Amakusa Shirou is doing is correct."
"Yeah, I saw that too. But just because he is correct does not mean that he is right. The fact that humanity will be saved does not strictly mean that everyone will be happy. And that's what Archer fights for. You saw his sword too, didn't you?"
That hit close to home. Her stoic face loosened, letting her doubts arise again. She could not deny the boy's words. Still, as she was, there was no turning back.
"Shut up! Even if he got them happy in the end, he certainly killed them! Even if you are a child, I will not hesitate to destroy you if you oppose my wish."
Being a bundle of doubts, Atalanta no longer knew what was right and what was not. So, in the end she ended up sticking to her current master's plan, influenced by her nature as a servant. She could normally easily oppose to something as subtle as that, but in her present poor state of mind she was incapable.
Sieg understood that, and prepared his sword. "If my words cannot reach you, then I will show you my resolve."
Archer was on top of the last one, flying over the flying fortress. The last Hrunting already loaded on his black bow and almost ready to be shot.
His opponent, Rider of Red, was still riding on his battle chariot, several meters above him. The defenses of the noble phantasm had managed to withstand Archer's third and fourth shot as well, but seeing the amount of prana he was pouring into the fifth, it wouldn't stand any longer.
Achilles knew that, and so he had already prepared a countermeasure for it. He stopped ascending in the air, and rushed towards Archer. It was a last all-or-nothing attack.
Archer pulled the bowstring to the max, causing the metal to squeal for all the force accumulated. The 'arrow' was already ready and overflowing prana, becoming a broken phantasm.
"Hrunting!" The bowstring was released, and the sword pursued its prey at tremendous speed.
Just a fraction of a second later, Achilles put in place his plan. He let go of the reins of the chariot and jumped back, leaving it to charge alone towards Archer.
Archer's eyes opened when he saw that. Even as an archer who can shoot his mark hundreds of meters away, he is still subject to a ironclad rule.
An arrow, once fired, cannot change its target. Whatever arrows that guarantees a definite hit he may have, a bowman cannot resist this law.
The target from the beginning had been Rider, who was riding the chariot. Even if Archer had aimed at the chariot, the result would have been the same. The chariot was one of Rider's noble phantasms, a crystallization of his legend, so calling it an extension of his power wouldn't be wrong.
The red demonic bullet and the descending green comet passed a few inches from each other, following their path towards their respective targets.
The broken phantasm crashed into Rider, causing a huge explosion that rocked the skies.
That attack would certainly have instantly killed even the majority of heroic spirits. But Rider had a divine protection that canceled out any attack that did not come from someone with a certain rank of divinity, so he was unharmed from the attack.
On the other hand, Rider's mount was not as abysmally fast as Hrunting, so Archer had time to jump out of the plane before it was destroyed.
The battle had ended in stalemate, with both attacks failing to destroy their target.
However, who was clearly in a disadvantageous position was Archer. He was in free fall towards the flying fortress. The fall wasn't a problem being a servant, the problem was that, in the middle of the air, he couldn't dodge Rider's next attack.
The chariot returned to its owner, and descended again towards the helpless Archer. To be struck by that noble phantasm would inevitably mean death, so the nameless servant had no choice but to face the attack head on.
"I am the bone of my sword. Rho Aias!" After pronouncing the first line of his aria, pull from the hill of swords the most powerful shield he had.
The shield of Ajax the Great, sublimated in a conceptual weapon in the form of a flower of seven petals, manifested itself with its seven layers in front of him.
The initial impact was tremendous. The first layer, even having the defensive power of a fortress, broke down within seconds. The pain came an instant later. He and the shield were one, so his body received the consequent damage.
It was quite ironic to see the only two existences that managed to stop the hero Hector's spear colliding.
Both descended at great speed towards the Hanging Gardens. Along the way, two more layers of Rho Aias were destroyed.
Archer's back slammed into the floor of one of the fortress's courtyards. They didn't cause a huge explosion, but the impact swept the area, leaving it completely flat.
Rider flew back into the sky, preparing for the last attack. Archer rose as he could, his body badly damaged. The fourth layer ended up breaking, causing his body to suffer more damage.
Still, the wounds were not very serious, and they were slowly healing with the prana he received from Fiore. He could still fight perfectly.
He dismissed Rho Aias. More than half the layers had been destroyed, and he doubted that it would resist another attack like that. The strategy had failed, so he had only one option left. Use brute force.
"Trace, on!" Archer traced in his hands the most powerful sword in his arsenal, Merodach. The sword that chose him as king to save Britain and the symbol of his legend along with Kanshou and Bakuya and his 'sword'.
There could be swords in his Unlimited Blade Works that surpass Merodach's raw power, such as Excalibur's image. But, because of its affinity with his legend, the cost to project the prototype all the legends of swords that select the king was much lower, and its power barely degraded from the original.
He moved the sword to his right side, with the blade pointing to the floor, in preparation to swing it upwards, and began to pump prana into it.
Rider continued to ascend to practically a green dot in the sky, and already with sufficient height, began to descend at full speed towards Archer.
"TROIAS TRAGOIDIA!"
"MERODACH!"
The beam of light that burns everything it touches was fired upwards, while the green comet descended again from the heavens.
They both clashed with a huge crash, shaking the fortress and illuminating the heavens. The golden light pushed against the overflowing prana of the chariot, unable to penetrate and disperse. However, the sheer force of the beam prevented Rider from moving forward, with both remaining in an even struggle.
The fight would be determined by who would run out of prana before.
Moments later, the difference began to be made. Slowly but surely, Rider began to move forward, pushing back the torrent of scorching light.
It was an obvious result. Even if the power of the noble phantasms was very even, Archer had been a normal human in life, while Rider was a demigod. The amount of prana they could handle had no point of comparison.
Even giving it all, King of Fakers could not overcome all the odds against him.
But, he was not alone now. There was a girl who supported him to overcome even fate.
"Archer, by my command seal, I order you to destroy that chariot!"
Archer had already expected something like this to happen, so he planned with his master beforehand. Fiore had not used any of her command seals throughout the war. And this being the final battle, they didn't have to spare them anymore.
The order was transmitted in the form of a huge amount of prana flooding Archer's body. He wasted no time and forced all the energy into his sword, and it transformed it into heat values.
"HAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
The golden beam of light grew twice as large, and swallowed Rider and his noble phantasm completely. The clouds were divided by the attack, as if it were a huge sword cutting through them, and the starry sky was fully visible.
The Merodach in Archer's hands shattered. If it had been the original weapon, it might have withstood all that power, but being a projection it couldn't.
He took a few moments to catch his breath. Achilles' noble phantasm had indeed been destroyed, but its owner was far from being defeated. This was only the first step towards victory.
As he had expected, the servant soon landed beside him. His smile even brighter on his face.
"That's a powerful sword you have there, Archer of Black. You sincerely impressed me. So..." He left his relaxed posture and prepared his hero-killer spear. "How about we start the second round?"
Archer responded to his opponent's invitation by tracing the pair of swords he felt most comfortable with, Kanshou and Bakuya. They were the swords he had used most during his life, and with which he had developed and perfected his fighting style.
He stepped forward. His first move, predicting Rider's counterattack and how to avoid it. He kicked the ground, crossing in an instant the ten meters that separated them, and swinging Kanshou to his only weak spot.
Predictably, his attack was easily parried by his opponent. Being the only point at which Archer could cause harm, Rider barely had to watch the attack.
The storm of steel, sounds of metal shocks and sparks began right after.
Sieg was having a hard time.
"Balmung!"
He swung Siegfried's greatsword again, unleashing a twilight wave of destruction in front of him. Once again, the barrage of projectiles created by Atalanta's noble phantasm was completely obliterated, bringing the fight back to a standstill.
This situation had already been repeated several times. Although it looked like the homunculus was taking the lead by countering Archer of Red's attacks, he knew things weren't like that at all.
His power to transform his body into Siegfried had a limited time, and he put enormous strain on his body. Every second he passed in that form, Siegfried's heart in his chest tried to overwrite his existence.
Thanks to the skills he inherited from Frankenstein, he had managed to extend the time of transformation, and not be completely drain of prana in the first use of Balmung. Moreover, he overcame that, unleashing the power of the noble phantasm in repetition.
However, Atalanta, despite her unstable mental state, was still one of the best archers that humanity had seen. Even if the time between each use of Balmung was minimal, that was enough for her to keep Sieg at bay with her arrows, preventing him from approaching a range in which he had the advantage.
The Armor of Fafnir could mitigate most of the damage that Sieg received, but, although he could be considered a servant in that state, he had no master to replenish his prana and no pasive regeneration.
Atalanta knew that opposing him in raw power was suicide, so she was simply holding out until Sieg's powers were exhausted.
And Sieg knew it too. To continue at that pace would only lead to his defeat, and that was something he could not allow. If he fell here, Archer of Red would go to stop Ruler, or worse, seeing her obsession with Archer, she would go to confront him.
He had sideswiped the huge pillar of golden light engulfing Rider, so that meant that Archer had managed to move on to the second phase of his plan. The most complicated of all, to get the divine protection of Achilles annulled.
If Atalanta joined her fellow Greek hero, Archer would inevitably lose.
Besides, Sieg didn't want to fall before he could show his resolve to his opponent. Atalanta had been the most affected of all to see Assassin's sad fate, and now she was a bundle of doubts and regrets.
He did not have a 'sword' like Archer's that could show her the light of hope, but he hoped that showing her his determination, the same determination that all his companions shared to fight in this battle, could open her eyes.
So he was going to risk everything in the next move. He had kept his trump card until the end, and it was time to use it.
He activated the other skill he inherited from Berserker, Galvanism. The electricity started coming out of his feet, and imitating Archer's prana burst, he let it explode. Leaving a large crater on the ground, Sieg shot out at an enormous speed toward the opponent. It would hardly take him a few seconds to cross the great distance between them.
Seconds that Atalanta did not miss. Despite her initial surprise at her opponent's sudden change of plans, she reacted quickly and deployed her noble phantasm.
This time, she offered her prayer to the gods with one arrow, so all the projectiles were concentrated in one area, aiming at Sieg who could not dodge them in the air.
Balmung lit up with its twilight aura in preparation, but it was not yet time to release its power. If he did so to counter Atalanta's attack again, the recoil would cause him to lose all his momentum, and Atalanta would take the opportunity to dodge him and jump to another point from which to shoot him.
If he wanted to win, he had to take risks. He faced the rain of projectiles head-on and without hesitation, testing his entire training with Saber and Archer.
Trying to avoid all the arrows was impossible, so he only focused on stopping and deflecting all the arrows that aimed at areas of his body that would cause fatal injuries or kill him instantly.
The Armor of Fafnir barely prevented his limbs from being destroyed, yet he became a bloody mess. However, that did not weaken his resolve one bit.
"OOOOOOOOOOHHH!"
Enduring pain with sheer determination, as all his allies in this battle had done, he reached out to Atalanta.
"No way!" She quickly loaded an arrow in her bow and aimed it at the boy's head. At such a short distance, she would have no problem piercing his defensive noble phantasm and killing him instantly.
But, something stopped her. It was the look she saw in the boy. That look full of resolve to follow his way to the end, even if his goal was almost impossible.
That small hesitation of just a fraction of a second decided the outcome of the battle.
"BALMUNG!"
Sieg swung the sword toward his opponent. Its twilight light concentrated, releasing itself in the form of a compressed slash that pierced Atalanta's torso.
It was a totally fatal wound. Atalanta staggered backwards, as she spat blood and vanished.
But before that, she took one last look at the boy. "I see... So that's the determination of that man... to pursue an impossible dream..."
Those were her last words before returning to the throne of heroes. Sieg could only hope that it would help her find her answer.
He fell to the ground without energy. His transformation was over, but the wounds remained in his real body. They were not mortal, but he won't be able to move any muscle in quite time, and the loss of blood began to cloud his mind.
With his duty done, it was now the turn of Ruler and the others.
It was a literal storm of attacks leading to death. Each thrust with enormous force, speed and precision that would overwhelm even most heroes.
His spear, Diatrekhon Aster Lonkhe, boasted of having the most powerful thrust, having pierced the chest of countless heroes who fought against its wielder, Achilles, the hero of the Trojan War.
Standing up to such a whirlwind of destruction was comparable even to receiving the power of The Gate of Babylon, and that, coming from the guy who fought the King of Heroes in the previous Holy Grail War, is something.
And, opposing such an unstoppable force, was me.
Reading ten steps ahead, ensuring five more seconds of survival with each attack parried or deflectedd. Using the prana burst at the precise moments to compensate for my lack of speed and strength, and with just the strictly necesary power so I don't overdo myself and use my remaining prana in the most efficient way.
Practically, the only attack I was allowed was the first one. I failed to cause the opening necessary to damage his weak spot, his right heel.
It could be said that it was a miracle to have lasted a few minutes without being torn apart.
I used all my vast combat experience throughout my life, manifested in an A+ rank Eye of Mind, along with my perfected and polished fighting style to face much superior opponents. And yet, this could only be called surviving.
His spear moved in a wide swing, and I decided to stop the attack and let myself be carried away by the impulse.
"Kuh!" Kanshou and Bakuya broke in the clash as I jumped back to regroup myself.
"Haa... haa... haa..." It's hard for me to keep my breath steady, with my body, even as a servant, reaching its limit. My body is so hot that even steam comes out of my mouth with every breath.
Without losing a second, I project the married swords back into my hands. I jumped ten meters back, but someone with agility as high as Rider would hardly take an instant to cross such a distance.
I can block five more attacks from Rider, but I can't say what will happen after that. So I have to find an opening in the next five attacks and hit his weak spot.
However, the attack I prepared for never came. Rider stayed in place, and to my surprise, the smile he kept during the entire fight was now a serious face.
"Something's been bothering me for a while."
One of my eyebrows reflexively rose upon hearing his strange comment. So far, he seemed to have been enjoying the fight to the fullest.
"And that would be?" Talking to the person I'm fighting to the death is not something that I find very sensible. But, I took advantage of the situation to rest a little and let my passive regeneration heal my wounds a little.
"You're certainly a skilled warrior who fought on countless battlefields, but, I can't see any pride in your swords."
He didn't lack reason. Kanshou and Bakuya were two swords that were forged without vanity, and lacked a sense of purpose found in other swords. And that is why, as a person without pride of his own, are the swords with which I feel most comfortable.
"You are right on that. I have always considered my magecraft and my skills as simple tools to achieve my goal. If there was anything you could say that I'm proud of, that would certainly be my dream."
"I see. That's a good point of view..." My answer seemed to satisfy him, but there was still something else bothering him. "But if that's true, then why are you conserving your energy, Archer of Black?"
"That's..." My eyes widened for an instant. His words contained a deeper meaning.
How good is it to keep energy in reserve?
If I don't defeat Rider here I will die. But, after this battle, I still have to face Amakusa Shirou.
I know this time I'm not alone, I have allies who are also fighting for the same cause. But something tells me that I'm the one who has to face that man. Also, as Astolfo said, we both have a score to settle with the other.
But... that won't make sense if I can't get to him. And, that would mean sacrificing my chances to beat him in order to beat Rider.
I can't do that. Dying here won't do any good, but it's no use if I can't stop Amakusa Shirou.
"Archer. I will return to where Amakusa Shirou is after defeating you. Do you understand? The holy maiden will have to face me and my master together."
That's impossible. Ruler won't stand a chance against both of them at the same time. And even if Rider were her only opponent, if I don't even manage to destroy his invulnerability, she won't be able to beat him either.
"Rider, you..."
"Sincerely, although the salvation of mankind is a good thing, I still think Amakusa Shirou's plan is ridiculous. My only wish is to be able to continue living like a hero, and I agree with you that if you want to achieve your dream, you should do it on your own. So..."
His fighting spirit roared up in that moment. "I want to have a glorious battle with you, and that we can both enjoy it as proud warriors. But, so far I've only been fighting an emotionless machine. I want you to come to me with everything you have, King of Fakersr! I want you to show me that determination to achieve your impossible dream!"
Well... he was right.
Throughout my life I realized that planning things in advance is the best option in most situations.
However, my victory here is something impossible if I don't give it my all, so planning my next fight and preparing for it in advance makes no sense.
From the beginning, I should have stopped thinking about it and doing things with the approach that I've always felt better. That is to say, going head-on and improvising.
Still, saying it was easier than doing it. My opponent is a demigod who surpassed me in every way, and is virtually invulnerable to any of my attacks.
Another day at the office. I was losing count of how many times I found myself in a situation like this a long time ago.
My mind quickly went through all my possibilities.
Throwing him anti-immortal noble phantasms won't do. Last time, I was counting on Saber's help to distract him.
Unlimited Blade Works was also ruled out. I barely have prana left to deploy it, and even though Rider is a battle maniac, I doubt he'll sit idly by while I cast a seven-line spell right in his face.
My eyes then settled on the swords in my hands. I had only one option left if I wanted to find the fatal opening that would allow me to win. I'd have to make a few minor adjustments to the technique, but it'll do.
I dropped my tense posture and my cold expression. As Rider said, this was not a simple pointless fight to death. I will fulfill his wish, and this time, I will try to fight up to his expectations.
"I apologize if I offended you, Rider. This time, I will go with everything. I will show you the culmination of my work with these swords, and the true meaning behind them." As I said that, I crossed my arms in front of me, leaving the blades pointing up.
"Any taken. That's much better." His wild smile reappeared on his face, as he leaned forward in preparation to throw himself at me.
The place was completely silent, just hearing the explosions on the other side of the fortress that surely were the fight between Siegfried and Karna.
This fight would be decided in the next few seconds, so the tension in the environment was so dense that it could be cut with a knife.
"Spirit and technique, flawless and firm."
Taking the lead, I charge them with prana and throw both swords sideways. In the middle of the air, the swords draw an arc so they intersect right on Rider's neck.
A seemingly senseless attack, because the blades wouldn't damage him even if the attack landed.
Still, my opponent took the trouble to block them. With a couple of swings of his spear, he redirected both blades that attacked him at the same time from different angles behind him.
I find myself unarmed now, but my opponent knows full well that I can rearm myself at any time. I quickly load in my mind the plane of the next weapon I was going to trace, and begin the projection process as quickly as possible.
My opponent, without wanting to give me time to finish the process, throws himself at me. The distance is crossed in just a heartbeat, and his spear is barely inches from stringing my chest.
But that was enough time. The huge axe-sword used by the Berserker of the previous Holy Grail War appears in my hand, and I immediately unleash his technique.
"Set, Nine Lives Blade Works."
My body reproduced the giant's immense strength, and surpassed my opponent's speed with godspeed. I aimed the eight simultaneous strikes on the spear that brought a certain death.
I couldn't even perform the full technique. At the fifth slash, the stone slab in the form of a sword broke. But, that was to be expected. Due to lack of time, I omitted some steps in the process of tracing, only doing those necessary to reproduce the technique.
Still, I got my objective. My sudden boost on strength caught Achilles by surprise, and his spear flew out of his hands to plunge into the ground a few metres behind him.
Taking advantage of his slight moment of surprise, I trace the second pair of married swords into my hands, and swing Bakuya directly on his left heel.
The blade is about to touch his weak point, but showing his incredible reaction time, his left arm moves rapidly downwards. A silver shield with a symbol of a cross in its center appears in his hand and struck my sword, destroying it instantly.
"That was a very good try, King of Fakers. But, this is the end-!" Even unarmed, Achilles was an expert in the world's oldest martial art, Pankration, so he would have no problem destroying me with his bare hands.
However, this was already within my plans. He had already shown the absurd amount of four noble phantasms, so having a fifth was within my expectations. In fact, after fighting the King of Heroes, I know what the magus usually say that a heroic spirit is usually summoned with only one noble phantasm is pure bullshit.
"Our strength rips the mountains."
"What-!?" His right fist had been retreated to destroy my head with his great strength, but it stops when he feels a sudden pain in his heel. We both felt his divine protection crumble quickly.
Kanshou and Bakuya were married swords, so once separated one will return to the other no matter the distance. The Kanshou I had threw recognized the Bakuya that was in my hands a few moments earlier as its partner and returned with to meet it again, stabbing the heel of Achilles that was in the middle of its trajectory.
Disarming him to try to attack his weak spot had been nothing more than an elaborate feint, with the sole purpose of making him forget the first pair of swords.
But it didn't end here. The fight wasn't won yet. Although his invulnerability had been destroyed, that was only the second step towards victory. The wound on the heel was certainly debilitating, but it was far from being mortal.
"Our swords split the water."
Without giving him a moment's rest, I quickly swing Kanshou towards his chest. He reacted just as quickly again, his left hand with the shield moving fast to block my attack.
But this time, Achilles did notice the surprise attack coming from behind him. "Another one?"
He tilted his body to the left, dodging the Bakuya from the first pair by a few inches, and at the same time swinging his shield, destroying the Kanshou in my hand.
Time freezes while we both evaluate each other's condition. The exchange ended in a stalemate. I was unarmed, but his severed heel reduced his speed considerably.
And, the purpose behind my technique had been accomplished. His posture was completely ruined, and at the cost of stopping my last attack, he had left himself wide open.
"Our names reach the imperial vila."
"Ah..."
The expression of my opponent is frozen. In my empty hands appears the third and last pair of married swords.
Pumping a lot of prana into them, their blades lengthen twice their original length. Their blunt part splinters, making them look like a pair of crane wings.
"The two of us cannot hold the heavens together!"
I cut his defenseless body from both sides. His internal organs, along with his spiritual core, are completely destroyed.
The fight was over. That wound was completely fatal even to a servant with the battle continuation skill. His body would soon fade away.
Rider stood still spitting blood. But, despite being defeated, his smile remained on his face.
"Magnificient... Truly splendid... I guess the legends didn't exaggerate... when they said you accomplished the impossible... Such determination... that's how heroes should be."
He slowly raised his armed hand with his shield. I raised an eyebrow at that. There was no longer any hostile intention coming from him, so it seemed like he was offering me his noble phantasm.
"Take it... You'll need it more than I... You know that already, don't you? This is the only way you can... beat Lancer..."
"But, why are you giving this to me?"
"Well... you know... my wish is to continue living like a hero, but in this battle... I end up being one of the villains... So, I wanted to do something to make it up..."
"That's not entirely true, Achilles. I don't think there is good or evil here. We all fight for what we believe in. You gave it all and fought to the end for what you believed in, so you shouldn't have regrets, don't you think?"
"Yes, I totally agree... This fight... was really exciting... King of Fakers..."
With those last words, and a radiant smile on his face, the hero of the Trojan War vanished.
After I caugth my breath, I ran out of the ruined courtyard towards the explosions that marked the spot where Saber was fighting Lancer.
I had to hurry up. The shield would not last long now that its owner was gone, and with my low reserves of prana, projecting a copy would be impossible, especially being a shield.
With a little structural grasp, I could see that Rider of Red was right. This noble phantasm was the key to defeating the mighty hero of charity.
But on the way I stopped when I came across a familiar face. It was Astolfo, who was running in a direction perpendicular to mine.
We both observed the pitiful state the other was in, until he seemed to realize the implications of my being here.
"Archer, you defeated Rider of Red!?" Although this night was much more serious than usual, he approached me all excited. I could even see his eyes glow.
"I managed somehow. But there's no time for celebrations. I need to take this as quickly as possible to Saber. It's the only way to defeat Karna."
His gaze filled with seriousness again. He glanced at the shield and me before he spoke.
"All right, leave it to me!"
"Huh? Weren't you going to check on your master?"
"He's fine. I can feel it through our bond. More importantly, you must go and help Ruler stop Amakusa Shirou, so leave this to me."
Seeing your resolution, I couldn't refuse. "Fine. But remember, its true name is..."
Despite how tough the fight was, you could see a smile on Siegfried's face.
This was what the promise that he and Karna had made after their unfinished fight the day he and his master went to meet Ruler and try to win her favor. They'd both fight again, give it all up, and more importantly, enjoy it.
At first, Saber noticed that something was bothering Lancer. Something was preventing him from giving it all.
So he decided to stop the fight, and Lancer explained to him the situation of the former masters of the Red faction. In the end they agreed that Caules and Gordes, who had already managed to board the fortress, would go to rescue them, so that they could have their fight without worries.
The fight had remained even, despite Karna's generous use of flame prana burst. Saber had to squeeze his swordsmanship to the max to face him in equal terms, and yet, were it not for his defensive noble phantasm greatly reducing the damage he received, he would have been defeated in a matter of minutes.
His silver armor was already practically shattered, and he still couldn't harm Karna. The golden armor of this, Kavacha and Kundala, was truly indestructible.
According to estimates made by Archer after the first time they boarded the Hanging Gardens, all he could do was hold out until Lancer destroyed his armor so he could use the true name his spear.
Saying it was easier than doing it. As a servant, Siegfried's speed to deploy Balmung's power had been reduced considerably. Each use counted, so he had to maximize each one's efficiency.
The courtyard they were in had become a desolate land, and the fighting was just beginning. He had narrowly dodged one of Lancer's noble phantasms, which consisted of a powerful beam of fire fired from his eye, and now he was preparing to use another.
Karna was in the middle of the air after being rejected by Saber's attack. His golden spear wrapped itself in powerful flames as he prepared to throw it at his opponent.
Seeing the enormous accumulation of power, Siegfried did not think twice and turned the hilt of his greatsword. The power stored in the gemstone came out, enveloping the blade in a twilight aura.
"BRAHMASTRA KUNDALA!"
"BALMUNG!"
The spear turned into a flaming shell that could be compared to a nuclear bomb hit the huge wave of destruction. Both attacks were countered, causing a huge explosion that clouded the view of both opponents.
"It wasn't a winning move after all... !"
Karna's eyes opened in surprise as he saw the smoke and flames split in two, and his opponent shot out at him through that opening. That had been one of his strongest attacks, and it only took his opponent a few seconds to pull himself together.
He quickly brought his spear into his hands and blocked Siegfried's sword. The sheer force of the attack sent him to crash into the ground, and he slid several metres, leaving a ditch in his path.
Karna did not take long to rise as if nothing had happened. His usually calm expression had become serious.
"Praiseworthy. Through your sword I can see the spirit of someone who wants to protect something. It seems that this will not be enough to bring you down." He raised his spear above himself, and his body began to overflow with pure power. "Therefore, I need an attack that brings you absolute destruction!"
His golden armor broke, and with it also the seal that prevented his divine spear from showing its true power. It returned to its original appearance, with a bright reddish core and a huge black blade that measured easily one metre. The flames around Karna began to overflow in all directions, razing the area.
Siegfried reaffirmed his grip on the hilt of his sword. This was what he had been waiting for. If he could survive this attack, victory would be near. However, in his mind there was pure euphoria, seeing that his opponent was finally going to go all out.
"Hero Siegfried, out of respect for this worthy rival I have found in this second life, I will offer you my strongest and most powerful attack!"
"Then I will also go all out! So bring it on, Karna!"
On Karna's back four red blades unfolded, and a purple aura burst. With the ultimate attack almost loaded, he aimed the god Indra's huge spear at his opponent.
"Know the mercy of the King of the Gods!"
Siegfried turned the hilt of his sword again, and the true Eter of the age of the gods emerged. He kicked the ground and charged forward as he prepared to swing his noble phantasm upwards.
"The evil dragon shall fall!"
"With this one stroke, I shall inflict extinction!"
"And the world now will reach twilight!"
"Be reduced to ashes, VASAVI SHAKTI!" With that, the attack that was said to destroy everything in one blow was released.
"Fall, BALMUNG!" This time, instead of a wave of destruction, the great phantasmal sword fired a beam similar to that of Clarent Blood Arthur to match the anti-world noble phantasm.
Even so, even putting everything into that last attack, Siegfried could not match the enormous power of his opponent. Within seconds of the initial crash, Balmung began to back quickly.
But, Saber didn't give up, and he kept pouring all his prana into his sword. His determination gave his master enough time to make a decision.
Gordes, who was far from there, could see his servant fighting through his eyes. His gaze stood on the only command seal left in his hand.
He had wasted the other two command seals in the first battle against Rider of Red, but this time, he would give them a proper use. Saber was going to die if he didn't, so at least they would take the most powerful enemy servant with them.
"Saber, by my command seal, I order you to defeat that flame bastard!"
The huge amount of prana of the command seal came to Siegfried, along with the determination of his master.
He could not help but smile despite the peculiar way in which the blond magus referred to his rival.
"HAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
He quickly pushed the whole prana to the sword. The twilight beam grew several times in size and even the balance in the clash of power.
It was not enough to overcome the true name of Karna's spear, but now it was no longer a one-sided power struggle, but a fight of wills. And even in that regard, both showed an enormous amount of determination, equalizing.
They were in a stalemate, in which will lose who run out prana before. And Siegfried at a disadvantage with his contract with his master already ended, and would soon fade away.
"Still it was not enough, huh?"
"Don't give up! The help is already here!"
A voice that he soon recognized surprised him. He turned to see Astolfo recklessly plunging between the two attacks.
Just seconds before he was completely obliterated, he shouted the true name of the shield in his hands. The one he had received from Archer, who in turn received it from Rider of Red as a parting gift.
"AKHILLEUS KOSMOS!"
The bounded field of the noble phantasm expanded, deploying the miniature replica of the world in which Achilles lived, and receiving the god slayer attack.
"That's... a different world." Karna couldn't help gasping as his attack impacted and destroyed the miniature world.
"Go, Saber!"
Siegfried did not need to be told. With his body beginning to collapse and fade, he quickly jumped towards his opponent.
He swung Balmung, releasing the remaining power from the blade and cutting everything in front of him. Karna brought his spear, which had returned to its former form, before him, blocking the attack and falling back to the ground.
Siegfried threw his blade towards his opponent's chest as a seemingly desperate last attack, but Lancer easily deflected it.
They both stood on either side of the sword, and jumped at the same time towards it. The match would be decided on whether Saber would recover his blade in time, or would be pierced by Lancer's flaming spear before.
But there was one thing Karna didn't count on, and that was that Saber had one last ace up his sleeve.
"What!?"
A simple-looking scythe materialized in his hand. It was a projected copy of the Harpe's prototype that Archer had given him as a last resort.
Karna could sense the anti-immortal nature of the weapon, but it was already too late. Having propelled himself with his prana burst, he could no longer slow down.
The crescent-shaped blade pierced his spiritual core mercilessly, causing a fatal and incurable wound, while the Achilles' noble phantasm finished exploding in the background.
"Not even that... was enough to defeat you..." Karna managed to talk as he vanished.
"Well... I couldn't defeat you alone... I must apologize for letting someone else... interfere in our fight..."
"No. You did your duty... as a servant to the end... Besides, this Holy Grail War... is a battle between factions... It's normal... for you to have the support of your allies..."
"What matter is that you both enjoyed it and are satisfied, right?" They both turned to look at Astolfo approaching them.
"Yeah... I had my promised fight... and I was able to save my master... I can depart... without regrets..." Karna was the first to return to the throne of heroes.
Siegfried followed shortly after, but before that, he said goodbye to Rider. "I guess this is goodbye... Take care of the boy, Astolfo..."
"Goodbye, Hero of Charity, Drangon-Blooded Knight. You can leave that to me."
Having remained alone, Rider ran to where he felt his master was. He wanted to see how all this ended, and surely Sieg too.
And that's all for now. What do you think? I really tried to make the fights the most epic possible. The first part of the fight between King of Fakers and Achilles, specifically the strategy of the five Hruntings, is a reference to the decisive battle in Hollow Ataraxia. The second part is a reference to the fight between Rider and Saber on Fate's route, and the third is a reference to Sparks Liner High.
Yeah, what beat Achilles wasn't the Unlimited Blade Works, or spamming anti-immortal weapons at him like Gilgamesh would. It was the Triple-Linked Crane Wings, the emblematic technique of Archer with Kanshou and Bakuya, and which unfortunately has not come out in any anime. And no, I don't count what was seen in the first Fate anime of Deen Studio. For me, the original and most epic Triple-Linked Crane Wings is the one Shirou uses in Sparks Liner High.
But, leaving the captain references mode, in the next chapter you will see at last the fight between Amakusa Shirou and King of Fakers, and as you might expect, the last bonding moment with Jeanne. As for the fight between Mordred and Semiramis, I don't know whether to include it. I mean, the fact that Mordred now sees her 'father' otherwise doesn't have much influence on the fight itself. I'd like to know if you want to read it even if it doesn't change much from the original, or if you want me to focus on the final fight.
And finally, as always, any constructive review is welcome, as follow and fav motivate me to continue writing. So as not to keep you waiting too long, my next update will be the end of this story. After that, as I begin to plan the crossover with FGO, I will update my other story, which seems that the previous chapter quite liked.
With this, I bid you farewell for now. We will see each other at the conclusion of this story.