Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

"In the end, my strength was too weak."

Emiya clenched his fists tightly, recalling the battle of the previous night.

Aside from holding Arthur back, he hadn't done anything to help him at all.

Whether it's Assassin or Berserker, Emiya can only face them passively; he simply doesn't have the strength to fight them.

In the end, the only way to escape Archer's Noble Phantasm attack range was by self-destruction.

I am far too weak.

Then, as if remembering something, Emiya turned to Astolfo and asked him a question.

"Rider, where's Saber? I don't see him."

Emiya looked around but didn't see that familiar blue figure. Logically speaking, if Astolfo was by his side, Arthur shouldn't have been absent either.

"Knight King—"

Astolfo hesitated a bit.

"What happened to Saber?"

Emiya Shirou asked anxiously, as he had fallen into a coma after the explosion and had no idea what happened afterward.

"Emiya, can you still sense that the contract with Arthur still exists?"

Astolfo asked Shirou Emiya, "Even if Arthur was at the center of that explosion, it couldn't be said for sure that he was eliminated."

Black Fang later returned to the town to look for Arthur, but to no avail.

Emiya Shirou shook his head, not because he couldn't feel his contract with Arthur.

Rather, no one told him how to feel the contract, and Emiya didn't know what to do.

However, Astolfo naturally understood Shirou Emiya's shaking of his head based on his own question.

"He—maybe he has already left the stage."

Astolfo, with his head bowed and a heavy tone, told Emiya Shirou this deduction: since the contract could not be sensed, it was basically confirmed that Arthur had already left the stage.

"Tell me what happened after I fell into a coma."

Emiya grasped Astolfo's shoulders, his tone growing serious. He wanted to know what had happened after he had fallen unconscious the previous night.

"Berserker self-destructed——————"

Astolfo recounted the events he had witnessed, as well as the information that Archer, who was still present, knew, to Shirou Emiya.

"In the name of the Command Spell, Saber, restore!"

"In the name of the Command Spell, Saber, restore!"

"In the name of the Command Seal, Saber—"

"Wait! Wait! Don't get so agitated!"

Astolfo hurriedly covered Emiya's mouth, stopping him from uttering his last words.

If he continues talking, those three Command Seals will be used up just like that.

Even if Arthur did survive the explosion, it would mean that Emiya would no longer have the ability to restrain him.

A Command Seal is a graphic consisting of three strokes, with each stroke representing the authority to issue an absolute command. It can be used a maximum of three times.

Using up all Command Seals does not terminate the contract between the Master and Servant; it simply prevents the Servant from obeying commands.

However, since it is quite dangerous to be unable to control a powerful servant, and there is even the possibility of being killed by the servant's rebellion, it is actually usually used twice.

"In the name of the final Command Spell, Skaber, recover!"

Emiya didn't care at all about the Command Seals on the back of his hand.

He wasn't a true magician, nor did he care whether he could control his Servants. If his Servants had already left the stage, what was the point of keeping the Command Seals? Emiya only hoped that Arthur would be safe and sound.

The three-stroke Command Seal faded away the instant Shirou Emiya finished speaking, and he could feel the extremely powerful magic emanating from the Command Seal seemingly being transmitted outwards.

"you----!"

Astolfo didn't know how to question or stop Shirou Emiya's behavior. Darnick had explained the function of Command Seals to Shirou Emiya from the beginning.

Under these circumstances, without any hesitation, he continued to use Command Seals in such an incredibly wasteful manner.

He suddenly remembered Emiya standing firmly in front of him, leading him away from Archer's Noble Phantasm range.

Such an explosion would only severely injure him, but he could recover through healing magic, and it wouldn't have a profound impact on him as a Servant.

But Emiya did not hesitate at all. With her human body, she stood in front of him, allowing him to be almost completely unharmed.

He had always been the one standing in front of others; this was the first time someone had stood in front of him, and it was a Master who was even weaker than himself.

His emotions began to fluctuate.

His gaze immediately changed as he looked at Shirou Emiya, whose face was filled with determination, his eyes revealing admiration and envy for the Knight King's master who trusted him so much.

"Rider, I'm going out for a walk."

Chapter 153 The Red-Haired Boy Shooting Archery in the Courtyard

It was nearing noon, and the sun, like a fireball, hung overhead, scorching everything in the world. Even the lush green grass bowed its proud head under the intense heat.

Waves of white smoke rose from the ground.

Under the scorching sun, a red-haired youth stood in the courtyard, amidst puffs of white smoke rising from the ground, mechanically repeating the actions of drawing a bow, shooting an arrow, drawing a bow, shooting an arrow.

It was as if everything around him had no effect on him.

One after another, arrows made of magic shot out from his hand, embedding themselves with extreme precision into tree trunks nearly a hundred meters away. The precision was such that each arrow embedded in the trunk was pierced by the previous arrow.

His other hand, which was holding the bowstring, could no longer be called a hand. Blood seeped out from the dividing line at his shoulder and dripped onto the ground.

If one has extremely keen observation skills, one can clearly see that at the boundary, countless tiny threads pierce deep into the body.

To the right of the dividing line was an arm-shaped object completely covered by armor.

"despair--!"

The wooden arrow, made of magic, pierced right through the arrow he had previously shot, which was still in mid-air.

Such archery skills can be described as superb.

"Emiya, how long has he been in the courtyard?"

Astolfo asked Archer, Saber, Berserker, and Berserker and Archer's Masters Caureus and Fiore, who were standing in the sunlight inside the room watching Emiya.

After Shirou Emiya awoke, he went to Vlad III to make his request, and just a few hours ago, he escorted the homunculus out and sent him to a small town in Tulipas.

Vlad III was not that simple.

However, considering that he had saved Shirou Emiya and had the support of Archer from the Black faction, he also permitted Astolfo's actions.

Vlad III had a consideration in mind: compared to Caster, it was clear that Rider, Archer, and Emiya Shirou were of greater importance.

Caster's puppets are barely worth mentioning and pose almost no threat to Servants, while the Red Team's Servants are generally extremely powerful.

In addition, as Astolfo's Master had informed Darnic that Command Spells might not be able to restrain Rider's actions, Vlad III immediately made a decision.

Because Astolfo possesses the Noble Phantasm "The Magical Omnipotent Guide," which is a Noble Phantasm that can be activated at any time, simply holding it in his hand will grant Astolfo A-rank Magic Resistance.

To force Astolfo to act, two Command Seals would be required, not to mention his ability to evaporate rationality at a level comparable to a curse, which even Command Seals struggle to control.

It's fair to say that unless he's willing, it's practically impossible to get Astolfo to do something he doesn't want to do.

So Astolfo took the homunculus away from the Yggdrasilian castle and, after settling him in, returned to the castle.

They searched for Shirou Emiya, who had previously said he planned to take a stroll around the castle to relax, and also saw the group standing inside the house looking towards the courtyard.

And the androids gathered in a circle, for some reason, stopped what they were doing and stared at Shirou Emiya, who was constantly shooting arrows.

"Before you left, he was already here, shooting arrows with undivided attention."

Fiore answered Astolfo.

She had originally intended to go to the council hall, as Astolfo and his servants had something to discuss with Vlad III, and she was obliged to be there as well.

However, due to Astolfo's impulsive nature, she had already pulled her Servant away before she could even react, and she was not capable of keeping up with her Servant.

So he slowly moved his wheelchair around the castle toward the hall, where he saw Shirou Emiya standing in the courtyard, shooting arrows incessantly.

She wanted to call out, but then she remembered that she never knew his name.

With his Servant gone, Shirou Emiya poses no threat to the Yggdrasilia clan. Moreover, because of Lancer from the Red side yesterday, the Black side has begun to value their own fighting strength.

It's worth noting that Vlad III, with his home advantage, is arguably one of the top-tier Servants, not to mention the legendary dragon-slaying hero, Siegfried.

Despite the attacks from the two Servants, Lancer of the Red faction remained in control. Although they injured him countless times, the effect was extremely minimal.

Even after his magical power erupted, he managed to suppress his own side, including two top-tier Servants.

It should be noted that the Black side only has Archer, Saber, and Lancer as their main fighting force.

If Karna of the Red team can fight two opponents at once without being at a disadvantage, then what kind of price would it actually take to force Lancer of the Red team to be eliminated?

The enemy also has an extremely difficult Rider to deal with—Achilles.

Not to mention Atalanta, who also comes from Greek mythology, and Mordred, who has the legend of killing King Arthur.

It's fair to say that the Black team has begun to doubt their own strength. Furthermore, their Assassin has slipped out of their control.

Under such dire circumstances, the Black faction's attitude towards Emiya softened, especially after hearing in the morning that Emiya Shirou couldn't sense the King of Knights' contract, which made them feel depressed.

Since Shirou Emiya also possesses the power to fight enemy Servants, the Black faction would never let him go, and thus their previous confrontational attitude was no longer present.

"That means—1, 2, 3, 4!!! It's been 4 hours, he's been here for 4 hours!?"

Astolfo counted on his fingers, looking with utter astonishment at Shirou Emiya, who was mechanically firing his bow under the scorching sun.

He hurriedly stepped out, intending to drag Shirou Emiya, who was baking in the sun, inside.

But Archer reached out and grabbed his shoulder, then shook his head.

"He's just a human being, and he suffered such serious injuries before. Staying in the sun for so long will cause him to suffer from heatstroke!"

Astolfo was very excited, broke free from Archer's grasp, and headed towards the courtyard.