FATE/IRREGULAR SUMMONS

Chapter 9: Realism vs. Idealism

Ryuudou Temple became the site of a raging storm. It wasn't a storm created by nature, but that of Magecraft being flung about with reckless abandon by a scorned woman. Her targets were two Servants who opposed her for different reasons, but were nonetheless threats to her ultimate plans. Medea remained floating above Archer and Connla as she continued using her violet lasers against Archer. For Connla, she cast a series of shearing wind funnels that forced the girl to run around the temple grounds. Not only did she have to protect herself, she also had to carry Shirou around in a bubble similar to what she did with Caren earlier.

While Medea's spells were impressive in their own right, she herself was not an offensive-type Caster in principle. Fending off Archer alone would have been a task in its own right, but now having to kill both him and Connla was putting quite the strain on her. Luckily, it seemed that Connla wasn't interested in fighting her. Her prerogative was to get Shirou out of the temple, leaving Archer to dispose of Medea on his own.

Connla made a mighty leap forward, tucking her legs in to avoid having them shorn off by a fierce tornado that exploded behind her. Shirou flew next to her and exclaimed, "What are you doing!? Why aren't you fighting together with Archer!?"

"I can't exert my full capabilities when there is a Master in the vicinity," she replied. "Besides, I already told you – Saber is relying on me to get you out of here. Once I've confirmed your safe extraction, then I'll come back here and deal with Caster."

"Saber's here…?"

"Yes. She is fighting Assassin as we speak. Just wait a bit longer."

Connla's feet rapidly pattered along the pavement as she eyed the temple's entrance, then she made a beeline straight for it. Medea saw this and forced Archer back with a concentrated beam of energy before sending another shot to cleave in front of Connla, while shouting, "You're not getting away!"

The girl hastily skidded to a stop, then hopped in a different direction to escape from another lethal hurricane. While Medea had her attention away from Archer, he summoned his bow and fired a flurry of arrows at her. She sent them scattering with a spontaneous gust, then resumed firing more energy rays at him.

Connla brought Shirou to a relatively unscathed corner of the temple and set him down. He kneeled and exhaled a huge breath – the fast-paced action he just experienced was such an adrenaline rush that he nearly forgot to breathe. Connla poked her head around the corner, then said, "I could fight Caster, but I won't be able to do so while trying to rescue you. The best option is for me to work with Archer and disable her as soon as possible. This means you're going to have to stay put and wait for the fight to conclude."

"Can you really do it without my help? Are you saying I'm just going to be in the way?" Shirou wondered.

"Yes," was the blunt reply. "Your priority is to stay alive for Saber's sake."

"But what about you? I mean, you're a child, aren't you?"

"Was my battle against Rider not a sufficient enough demonstration for you?"

"Ugh…" he grunted. "If only there was something I could do…"

"It's impossible. Why do you think Caster brought you here in the first place? It's because she determined you to be the weakest Mage who would be the easiest to manipulate. The fact that you possess one of the strongest Servants doesn't help your case much. My guess is that she probably would have brainwashed you so that she could have indirect control of Saber, and then pit her against Berserker."

"No, not quite. Caster said that she was going to take my Command Spells and plant them on her Master instead."

"Is that right? Well either way, the result would have been the same. I don't know what Berserker is like, but if Caster is relying on such a roundabout method to obtain Saber, then he must be quite the terrifying foe."

Shirou shuddered, thinking of the mountain of muscle who had revived after being killed, and had merely shrugged off Archer's strongest attacks as if they had never happened.

Connla continued, "Anyway, I want you to promise me something. You absolutely, positively, unequivocally need to stay out of sight while I help Archer. If you run around in the open like an idiot, I can't guarantee your safety any longer. Any one of our attacks could wind up destroying you in the blink of an eye if you're not careful. Can you do that for me?"

The teenager's expression grew strained. As much as he wanted to offer his help, he couldn't refute her logic. He remembered how she had saved him back at the school, and that he hadn't really returned his gratitude to her yet. Having to hide like a coward wasn't his style, but he didn't want to disappoint his two-time savior either. He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask her, and he couldn't do that if he was dead. He took a deep breath to compose himself, then said, "All right. I'll wait right here for you."

"Thank you. I'll be as quick as possible."

Connla emerged from the hiding spot and looked around to see where Archer was. She found him forced to a standstill, trapped inside some kind of purple dome. This was one of Medea's support spells called Atlas, which altered the atmospheric pressure in order to freeze a target into place. There was no way for Archer to move around in this state, which fully exposed him to the sorceress' wrath.

Not good!

Connla immediately used her platform Runes to hop up to Medea's flying position. She caught this movement out of the corner of her eye and immediately fired some violet lasers at her. Connla flailed her spear about to bat the energy rays aside, then swung down hard upon Medea's rod.

"Damn you, interloper! Why won't you disappear already!?" the woman raged.

"I'm not going to give up until I make you see how much of a mistake the Holy Grail War is!" the girl declared.

"And I'm not going to stop until I obtain the Holy Grail!"

"Why won't you listen to me, Caster!? I'm saying this for your own good, you know!"

"Forget about trying to negotiate with her, kid," Archer muttered. "She's become a victim of her own delusions."

Connla sighed in disappointment. She really was doing her best to reach out to Caster, but no amount of truths or facts would sway someone who refused to acknowledge them. Figuring it was a waste of energy to talk to her, she decided to save the conversation for another day and continue fighting.

"Begone, you insolent whelp!" Medea shouted.

A series of magic circles materialized around the pair, all of them concentrated on Connla. They fired simultaneously and exploded in a flurry of raw magic. The young Servant managed to push herself away from Medea an instant before the attack, but some of her clothes were singed to cinders. This left her horribly scarred body exposed for everyone to see, though she couldn't afford to worry about that right now. Behind her however, Shirou witnessed the numerous marks and yelped in shock at how brutal some of them appeared.

Then, Archer smirked a little. Just as Medea was about to attack Connla again, twin flashes of shining light flickered in the night sky. The sorceress gasped, noticing too late that, before he had been trapped inside her immobilization spell, he had flung his swords so that they whizzed about like boomerangs out of her sight. They converged upon her and slashed an X shape upon her chest. With her concentration broken, the Atlas spell shattered to pieces, freeing Archer and allowing him to project two new swords. Medea launched more energy lasers at him, but he dodged them with ease and conjured his bow into his hands.

Shirou's eyes were fixated on Archer's movements. Something about the man's actions resonated with him. He didn't know why, but everything about his technique felt so… familiar to him. Archer opened his free hand and projected a thin, drill-like blade that could serve as an effective replacement for an arrow. Connla's eyes widened as she instantly recognized that weapon.

The Spiral Rainbow Sword of Celtic mythology…

Then she immediately became confused. Why was Archer using it? How was he able to project it in the first place? She couldn't remember him as being someone from the Ulster Cycle like she was, so for all intents and purposes, he had no business wielding it. Yet here he was, about to fire such a powerful weapon of legends upon Medea.

Archer squatted into a low shooting position, then chanted, "I am the bone of my sword…"

Forceful gusts of wind engulfed Shirou and Connla as a vortex swirled around the bowman. Once he was ready, he shouted, "Caladbolg!"

He let his arrow fly. Medea attempted to block it with a larger magic circle, but the energy radiating from Caladbolg was too much for her rushed defenses to withstand. The crest shattered, exposing her to the full brunt of the weapon's fury.

"HYAAA~AAAH!"

With a deafening crack that rivaled a bolt of lightning, the sword cut through Medea and continued its trajectory into the sky. After that one sound, there was nothing but pure silence.

Artoria and Kojirou noticed the aftermath of Archer's shot and paused their duel.

"Looks like things aren't progressing as expected," Kojirou admitted, though he didn't sound disappointed. In fact, he was suppressing his excitement as he continued, "With my Master in peril, and with you unwilling to reveal your Noble Phantasm, I am forced to play my hand."

Artoria narrowed her eyes as the samurai stepped down the stairs to her level. He said to her, "Your trust in your Master is admirable, even though he is an unskilled Mage who has survived purely on luck alone. I'll have to stop taking halfhearted measures if I want to fulfill my own selfish desire of facing a worthy opponent."

"What are you playing at, Assassin?" she demanded.

"Though I am a nameless swordsman, my life has been entirely devoted to the sword. In which case, I shall demonstrate my life's work in order to break open your beliefs with brute force."

With that declaration, Kojirou got into a sword fighting stance known as ko gasumi no kemae, with the long katana's blade pointed upward. Then Artoria had a strange vision of herself being cut apart by three distinct slashes, her neck and torso bleeding out as she collapsed dead upon the stone steps. This was more of a possible reality she was witnessing if Assassin managed to break through her defenses. She instinctively uncloaked her hidden sword and tried to get into a defensive stance, but her reaction time was much too slow.

"Tsubame Gaeshi!" Kojirou called out the name of his Noble Phantasm.

Pure silence followed. Within the bright light of Artoria's sword, three violet slashes emerged. She knew what was going on. This was a technique born not out of god-like power or magical capabilities, but purely of human skill and effort. Despite possessing such an ordinary trait, it managed to reach the level of the gods by defying reality itself. Three concurrent arches were created in order to imprison the enemy within, not allowing for any defense or evasion. The trouble was that a sword could only create one slash at a time, no matter how practiced or skilled the user was. Kojiro found a way around this by utilizing a tiny aspect of the long-lost Second Magic, overlapping the current dimension with two more adjacent worlds where his slashes were performed differently. Like someone cutting and pasting different images upon one picture, all three unique sword slashes existed at the same time, trapping Artoria inside a cage of blades that closed in on her.

The potent sound of metal hitting metal screeched around both warriors. The swordswoman lost her balance and tumbled down the stairs. She immediately skidded to her knees and glared up at Kojirou. Her breastplate glowed from one of the sword strikes, but it magically repaired itself.

"Amazing…" he murmured in astonishment. "You withstood my Concealed Sword."

"…"

"It isn't really anything special, though. It's the fruit of my labors after resolving to strike a sparrow down in mid-flight. Sparrows are crafty little things that can read even the slightest movement in the wind, so using only one slash will not be enough. All I did was increase the number of lines, while striving to accomplish this within one breath. Normally this is beyond man's ability, but I really had no other alternative."

He raised his sword upon the falling leaves. A couple of them hit the blade and were cleaved through with nothing but gravity.

"I either had to give in to my limitations as a man, or embark in endless repetition until I mastered it," Kojirou admitted. "Before I knew it, I somehow accomplished it."

No. His claims are downplaying the miracle he just executed, Artoria thought. In that instant, three swords existed. That can only be possible through a Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon. In other words, he only used raw sword skills to go against the laws of reality in order to reach the level of the gods…

Connla remained stunned over what she just witnessed. She and Shirou stood behind Archer as he stared at the fallen Medea. The sorceress had collapsed to the ground, and a large amount of blood pooled around her from a distinct puncture wound around her shoulder area. Her mantle and dress were likewise tattered and barely suitable as clothing. She gasped hard for a minute, then glared up at him and asked, "Y-You're… not going to… finish me off…?"

"I already said I would test you with one blow, didn't I?" Archer retorted.

She used some kind of magic to forcefully close her injuries, which made her grunt in agony for a moment. Once she recovered, she wondered, "Then you're not going to kill me?"

"I avoid needless fighting where possible. Besides, my priorities lie with the boy, not with you."

"I see… And what about you, interloper? You're not going to defy Archer's wishes and finish me off?" Medea directed her question to Connla.

The girl blinked, then replied, "I only wanted to speak with you. I have no desire to kill any of my fellow Servants."

"Even if you are aware of my crimes against the rabble lurking within that city?"

"Oh, I'm aware, all right. But I also think you're doing it out of necessity. It was the same case with Rider – since her Master was an impotent Mage, she needed to resort to draining large masses of mana to sustain herself. You must be in a similar situation yourself, Caster. Even though you are a tremendous magus of world renown, even you can't escape the fact that you require a Master's mana stores to remain anchored to this world. If your Master is not someone that you can rely upon, then you have no choice but to leech off of the townspeople as an alternative."

Medea snarled a little, but kept her anger in check. Even if Connla's words were harsh, the girl was not quick to judge the value of her Master. All she was saying was that Medea's Master couldn't do their job of keeping their Servant around. Connla never claimed that her Master was entirely worthless. If she had, the sorceress would have eliminated her without a second thought here and now.

While standing back up, Medea murmured, "So none of you seek my death tonight. Heh heh… Ah hah hah hah! I can't speak for you, interloper, but the boy and Archer are quite alike!"

"Huh!?" both men yelped. Connla merely tilted her head, wondering what they were talking about.

"The boy cannot abide someone like me, who feeds off of innocents. As for you, Archer, you are not fond of needless slaughter. It's like you're one and the same."

Shirou blurted, "In what universe am I anything like this asshole!?"

"Agreed," Archer grumbled bitterly. "We both may be pacifists, but we each have our own reasons."

"Don't talk bullshit! You almost killed Saber while trying to snipe Berserker down!"

"That was before you and my Master entered into an alliance. It is unrealistic to expect me to save everything in sight. If you expect me to follow that kind of logic, then I should have saved Berserker as well."

Shirou would have argued further, but Medea laughed as if she was watching the funniest comedy ever. She exclaimed, "You two are so amusing! Your minds are alike, but your strengths and methods are markedly different. Then I will extend my hand in alliance as well. Both of you can join my side, if you wish. I have the means to put an end to this Holy Grail War. For those of you who respect the value of life, bringing this whole thing to a conclusion would be the right thing to do, wouldn't it?"

"Not a chance!" was Shirou's expected response. "I'd sooner die than work with someone like you!"

Connla remained quiet the whole time, and appreciated his quick response. However, she shifted her eyes toward the silent Archer. He just stood there, keeping his arms crossed. Her eyebrows pursed with concern over whether or not he was seriously considering the offer. If he did, it would make her job a lot more complicated in the long run. Would she have to try and talk some sense into him as well?

Archer finally responded, "I'll pass. Your team's fighting potential is too limited to evenly match against Berserker. You can't negotiate with me if your tactical offerings are too paltry for my liking."

Connla sighed under her breath, feeling her tense nerves relax as she thought, So that's what it was. He just needed some time to think about it from a strategic perspective.

"How unfortunate that you couldn't open your eyes to reason," Medea said.

"I am merely following my own logic," Archer replied. "My Master may be hunting you down, but she only told me to 'defeat' you, not to necessarily 'kill' you. Therefore, we can call this a draw due to injury."

"So you're letting me go despite your Master's wishes."

"I have no interest in what you do. Kill as many as you wish. It won't change anything."

All of Connla's blood practically stopped flowing, as if she was trapped in a singular moment of time. Medea smiled and crooned, "Oh my, what a cruel man you are…"

She spread her cape out and flew above the trio. Shirou attempted to chase after her, but she was far out of his reach by now. Her form turned lavender, then dissipated into a flock of fluttering butterflies. He clenched his fist, then turned toward Archer and Connla as he demanded, "Why did you both let her go? Either one of you could have stopped her."

"Weren't you listening to us, you goddamn fool?" Archer snapped. "The kid already made her point – whatever her objectives are, she doesn't want to kill any Servants. As far as I'm concerned, trying to kill Caster is like basically barking up the wrong tree. In order to get rid of her for good, we have to go after her Master instead."

"But we don't know who that is. While we're busy looking around for them, Caster is doing all of these horrible things to the townspeople. The number of victims will just keep increasing unless we stop her."

"The kid might be on to something regarding Caster's weakness though. At the least, driving her out of her territory here in Ryuudou can be considered a victory. Without these massive stores of mana to rely upon anymore, Caster basically needs to start from scratch as far as harvesting mana. If you ask me, that is quite preferable."

"Uh!?" both Shirou and Connla gasped.

"Think about it," Archer reasoned. "Caster may need to drain people of their life force, but she is the one most likely to amass enough strength to take out Berserker. Once Caster has run out of mana, then she can be dealt with once Berserker is out of the picture."

"Now hold on a minute," Connla retorted. "Is this something your Master would agree to?"

"Of course Tohsaka wouldn't!" Shirou exclaimed. "This bastard's just making these decisions to suit his demented way of fighting!"

Archer maintained his stoic expression as he explained, "Humans are mortals. No matter how many sacrifices there will be, regardless of who does the killing, everyone dies eventually. In that case, Caster's pilfering of human souls can be considered controlled chaos. The amount of latent mana being wasted on keeping so many people alive can instead be directed towards eliminating Berserker."

"Fuyuki is not some kind of cattle ranch," Connla snapped. "Just because you're not from this time period, that doesn't mean you have the right to slaughter everyone our of pure convenience."

"Think about it. If everyone were to die right now, wouldn't that make fighting a lot easier?"

She grit her teeth and snarled, "Now you're just stark raving mad, Archer. You think we're in some kind of old-world coliseum or something?"

"Not necessarily. I just believe that one's sins can be washed away with excellent results. As much as I want to save everyone, the fact remains is that it is impossible."

Shirou was beyond livid. His anger was so palpable that he could only stand there and tremble while glaring at Archer. Connla saw this and got in front of him, wielding her spear while urging, "Stay behind me."

"You… Who are you, anyway?" the teenager wondered.

Archer added, "That's something I'd like to know as well. Pretty much everyone knows that you're an unwelcome guest in this Grail War, kid. If you're not going to divulge your True Name, then at least identify your Class Name."

Connla nodded, then said, "I am Second Lancer."

"Hm. I suspected that was the case. If I hadn't met Cuchulainn already, then I would have believed you were some alternate interpretation of him. Do you happen to have some relation with him?"

"I wouldn't tell someone who twists and misconstrues facts to fulfill a sordid agenda."

"Quite the realist you are," Archer commended her while spreading his arms out and projecting his twin blades into each hand. It was evident to him that he could not reason with her.

She got into her combat stance and coolly replied, "I don't want to hear that from someone who is a slave to a fundamentally broken ideal."

He grew irritated with her unbridled insults, then disappeared in a small flurry. Connla didn't move a muscle as she concentrated on reading the wind around her. She detected a disturbance behind her and immediately whipped her spear around to deflect one of his swords. Despite her diminutive stature, her deft swings and near-instant acrobatic movements surprised him as he struggled to keep up with his young opponent. If he regarded Cuchulainn's technique as a raging storm that howled out of control, then Connla's equivalent storm was concentrated and precise in its destructive path. Cuchulainn could slip into a habit of wasted movements so long as he possessed superior strength, resulting in him basically playing around with Archer. In contrast, Connla partook in no such luxury and made sure each of her strikes had meaning behind them, precisely because she was not as physically strong as Archer.

She jumped up to his height and attempted to kick his cheek, but he blocked her leg with one arm and performed a mighty roundhouse kick of his own. It hit her breastplate and sent her sailing, but she suddenly planted her spear into the dirt and used it as a fulcrum to swing back at him.

"Mmgh!" the bowman grunted as he crossed his blades to shield his face from her incoming foot. She used the leftover momentum to elegantly flip over him, then swung her weapon down upon his shoulder. It was only thanks to his Mind's Eye and some seriously quick thinking that he managed to twist his body aside.

All the while, Archer couldn't ignore the impassive look in Connla's eyes. Although he felt like he was fighting Cuchulainn all over again, there had been a distinct passion in the blue-garbed Lancer's demeanor. Here, that vigor was absent. Archer compared Connla to a robot simply going through the motions of battle, shutting her mind down and letting her body do the rest. Cuchulainn let his emotions dominate him, while Connla heavily repressed those same feelings so she could concentrate better. In all honesty, Archer didn't know which of the two Lancers was more frightening in this regard.

As the duel continued, Archer began to pick up on Connla's fighting habits. The premise behind her fighting style was the same as Cuchulainn's, but the execution was different. Whereas the blue Lancer's strength lay in quick thrusts and stabs, the green Lancer's fluid motions were more suitable for low sweeping attacks. Not once did Connla attempt to parry him however. Whenever he went on the offensive, she would execute a series of lithe dances and gymnastic flips to avoid him.

This made him think about what her identity was. Based on combat technique alone, she had to have some connection with Cuchulainn, or at least the Ulster Cycle in general. The thing was that Cuchulainn never had any pupils, so no one inherited any of his techniques. But then he remembered something crucial; the notorious Celtic hero had an equally infamous teacher.

Archer made Connla jump back with a wide arc-like swing of his sword, then declared, "I get it. If you're not Ireland's Child of Light, then there may be something else you both have in common. Does the name Scathach ring a bell to you?"

"…"

She didn't want to betray any semblance of surprise to him. However, her lack of a response refuting his claim served to confirm his suspicions instead.

"Looks like I'm on the right track," he muttered with a slight smile.

"Enough about me," she retorted, wanting him to drop the subject altogether. "I wanted to talk with Caster. Since she's no longer here, it seems I have to make my case with you instead."

"So now I'm the next Servant you intend to solicit? Spare me your sermons. It's not victory you seek, but peace. You are wasting your life over something that doesn't exist, Lancer."

"I know that. World peace is merely a fantasy that can never be achieved. But at the same time, a wish from the Holy Grail is a fantasy that shouldn't exist. My goal isn't to achieve a fantasy – it is to destroy one."

"Interesting. You want to eliminate the source of all of this suffering. You know you can't do it alone however, so you're trying to poach the other Masters and Servants into joining your cause. You even tried to convince a deluded witch like Caster… I wish I could laugh at something so stupid, but I think I've lost the ability to enjoy humor."

"If anything is stupid, it is the premise behind these Grail Wars," Connla said. "It doesn't matter who would win the Grail. At the conclusion of it all, it would make your strategic butchering of Fuyuki's citizens look like a total joke in comparison."

Shirou froze. Archer couldn't resist twitching his eye at such a powerful statement. She was calling his plan substandard? He also couldn't deny how confident she sounded as she spoke. He lightly growled, "Just how much do you know? What is it that you're hiding from me?"

"If you have no intention of listening to what I have to say, then I won't waste my breath until I have you submit to me."

"Tch… What a stubborn kid."

Both Servants rushed in to meet each other in combat once more. His twin swords battered against her leaf-bladed lance. Their attacks were meant to take each other's necks, so they both had to maintain a solid defense while finding opportunities to go on the offense. Having Connla as an opponent wasn't quite as terrifying for Archer since he didn't need to worry about Gae Bolg. At the same time though, there was a particular air of mystery surrounding her that frustrated him. Her fighting style was adapted from Cuchulainn's so that she fought more like a personified windstorm, with her sweeping strikes and fluid acrobatics giving Archer quite the challenge.

Furthermore, there was the issue of her Noble Phantasm. After all, a battle between Servants was really a battle against Noble Phantasms. For all of the danger Cuchulainn posed to Archer before, at least his was very easy to figure out. Connla was the complete opposite. She had to be a pupil of Scathach's, but Archer knew of no such lore stating that the Witch of Dun Scaith had taken a girl in as a student. Given this lack of information, what kind of Noble Phantasm was Connla capable of? Archer had a feeling that he didn't want to find out. That was why he kept on assaulting her, refusing to give her even the slightest chance to activate her strongest attack.

At the same time, Archer's identity baffled Connla. She didn't know of any notorious bowmen who fought with dual swords. Therefore, she was worried of him using his Noble Phantasm for the exact same reason he had of hers. They were both enigmas to each other, and they wanted to keep it that way. Compounding the situation for Archer was that Cuchulainn had been forced with a Command Spell to hold back his true strength, which may have been the primary reason why Archer was still alive. No such restraint existed to suppress Connla. Although she said she didn't want to kill any Servants, her attacks were so swift that she could wind up mistakenly slaying him if he wasn't careful.

Archer vaulted back, then used his bow to fire a relentless fusillade of red arrows at the incoming Connla. To his amazement, she twisted, danced, and contorted her body in ridiculous configurations to dodge each projectile, making no effort to actually knock any aside. Her advance remained uninterrupted, and she hopped over him to viciously smash her heel upon his shoulder.

"Gah!?" he yelped, not expecting to feel so much pain.

He twirled low and delivered a spinning kick to knock her off of him. She blocked it easily however, and she flew back to land several meters away from him.

Protection From Arrows… Archer thought, grimacing to show his annoyance. Lancers are well known for either blocking or avoiding projectile attacks, making them the Archer class' natural enemy. Cuchulainn's skill is uncanny, but this one must have honed her natural speed so much that she's become an Irish equivalent of Hermes to compensate for her lack of endurance and strength. I'd wager that her Protection From Arrows is actually better than his as a result.

Luckily for him, it seemed that Connla had not picked up on his backup strategy yet. A distinct glint caught her attention, and she looked up to find two of Archer's projected swords swirling about towards Shirou.

"RUN!" she shrieked in horror.

The teenager had been so captivated by the battle that he too only noticed the swords just now. He spun on his foot and made a mad dash for the temple's entrance. Then, the back of his shirt was cut open in a pair of diagonals… followed by twin spurts of blood exploding out of an X-shaped wound that had been carved into his flesh. Connla let out a despairing yelp as she watched him plummet over the stairs.

She wanted to make sure he was still alive, but a different flash of light distracted her. During this brief opening, Archer stood poised with his bow and had summoned another miniature Caladbolg as his arrow. Connla's eyes dilated into small dots as she watched the weapon shoot at her head. Acting on raw instinct alone, she conjured a small Shield Rune and did her best to block the thin projectile, but the power behind it was too great for her to withstand. The resulting explosion sent her sailing backwards clean off her feet.

Artoria sensed movement coming from the top of the steps, and she looked up to find a bloodied figure collapsing upon the landing just above the one she and Kojirou were dueling on. With no concern about exposing herself to Assassin's attack, she rushed up while shouting, "Shirou!"

"Saber…" he gasped, then allowed his strength to leave him. She wrapped her arms around him and held him upright. Then she glanced back at Kojirou as he sheathed his sword.

"Why didn't you strike me down, Assassin?" she asked him.

"You were most attractive in battle, but you're more exquisite when you are concerned for your Master. Call it a moment of captivation, if you will," he explained, then raised his hand out to signify that he would allow them to leave. Artoria wondered if Kojirou was plotting something, but she strongly believed that wasn't the case. All he wanted was a worthy opponent, and he found satisfaction with her. His respect for her duty as a Servant clearly outweighed his selfish pursuit of combat. All Kojirou wanted was for Artoria to be in peak form, and she couldn't fight at her utmost when she was worried about Shirou. Both of them knew that there would always be a next time, so he let her leave so she could get her affairs in order.

"Pardon my rudeness," Artoria said. "You were indeed an opponent worthy of my full attention. On my honor, I promise that I will settle things with you."

Kojirou nodded in approval. Just then, they felt the wind rustle out of control, and the dead leaves falling around them were blasted away. Then they heard a young girl's high-pitched scream, which chilled both Servants' bones.

"YAAA~AAA~AAAH!"

"Lancer!" Artoria barked as she watched the girl painfully bounce and tumble down the steps until she collapsed on the landing where Saber and Shirou were. The child's skin had several new gashes that opened either from Archer's attack or the violent collision upon the stone stairs, so some of her remaining clothes were further stained with blood. She muscled through the pain and looked up at Artoria with a desperate look in her eyes.

"Archer's trying to kill Mr. Emiya! Hurry and get him out of here!" Connla implored.

While she was in the middle of saying this, Archer immediately leapt over the steps, bypassing Connla as he plummeted upon the unconscious Shirou. The sharp look in his soot-colored eyes expressed his intent to jab his twin blades into the teenager's back. Suddenly, Archer found his murderous path diverted when his swords struck steel, and he landed nearby. It hadn't been Artoria nor Connla who stopped him, but Kojirou.

"You want to get in my way, samurai?" Archer glowered.

"That's what I should be saying," Kojirou retorted. "I have given them permission to leave, yet you're the one determined to get in their way. If you intend to disrupt the harmony of our battle, then you will sate my lust for combat by giving me your head."

"You think you can defeat me, lackey of Caster?"

"You stole the words right out of my mouth. I only let you through to give that woman a good scare. To see you flee for your life is quite the disappointment for me."

Between Connla's sharp words and Kojirou's insult, Archer had heard enough. He spun his blades over his palms, then rushed in to duel the nonchalant samurai. Both of their movements were swift and violent, and the air surrounding them whipped in response to their frenzy. Connla crawled over to Artoria as the swordswoman urged, "Come on, Lancer. We must flee while they are distracted."

She carried Shirou down the steps, and the young girl followed after her.

It had only been half an hour since Connla left Caren behind at the base of Mt. Endou. The priestess hadn't said a word nor moved an inch. All she could do was stare at the steps in anticipation of her Servant's return. She kept herself occupied by praying for God's protection and guidance, but all of the worshipping in the world couldn't help ease her anxiety. However much Caren and Connla argued with each other over their different approaches, the young girl had indeed earned a spot in the nun's heart.

It was approaching 11 o'clock when Caren finally saw people running down the steps. Her fears dissipated once she saw Connla hurry over to her, and she chided, "Goodness. I was wondering how long you would take, Lancer."

"Sorry for taking so long," she apologized. "But we need to retreat ASAP. Mr. Emiya needs emergency treatment."

"I'm going to take him back to his place," Artoria said.

She tried to walk away with the unconscious boy in tow, but Caren blocked her way while uttering, "Are you a fool? Do you want your Master to be so easy to find?"

"Well… I admit that this is the second time he's been so grievously injured. But it's my duty to always protect him, so-"

"And how well did you do with the 'protecting' tonight?"

The swordswoman flinched in resignation. Connla blurted, "Enough of that, Master. Let's take him back to the manor so Ms. Matou can look him over."

"Agreed," Caren said. "Come with us, Saber. We have our own hideout that is unknown to the majority of the other participants. I promise you that Emiya Shirou will be safest there."

Artoria sighed, but knew she couldn't waste time arguing. The longer she did, the more Shirou would bleed out. She said, "Please show me the way."

"Follow me," Connla replied, then summoned an air bubble around Caren so she could float alongside her. The Lancer leapt in the direction of Edelfelt Manor, and Artoria pursued a short distance behind.