FATE: Target of Grand Master

"Wow! Seriously, those two are running way too fast."

Xia Yan, who had cast a speed-up spell on himself, chased after Saber and Shirou along their route for a long time, but still couldn't see them.

Seeing the monster corpses along the way, Xia Yan didn't need to worry too much about losing them.

just.

Xia Yan raised his head and looked at the road ahead, which led to Liudong Temple.

At the beginning of the road, in order to save time, Artoria kept releasing magic to clear away the monsters along the way, while Shirou followed behind her, occasionally checking the location of the Garuda in the sky.

"Saber, that bird-like monster has begun to slow down and descend. Its target is at our 11 o'clock position."

"learn."

After slashing down a sea monster with her sword, Artoria slightly adjusted her direction of travel.

Shirou followed immediately.

"Saber, I'm sorry, I know this might be a trap, but I can't just watch Fujimura-nee get taken away by a monster."

For some reason, Shirou felt a sense of unease.

"Why bring this up now? I am Shirou's sword, and I should protect Shirou's companions. Besides, I quite like Taiga too," Artoria replied gently.

"Yes, that makes sense. Let's hurry up and bring Fujimura-nee back."

The two accelerated again and soon arrived at the location where Garuda had landed.

"Shirou, where is this..."

"I never expected there to be such a cave beneath Ryudong Temple."

At this moment, the two were standing outside the large cave below Ryudo Temple. The bird-shaped monster was standing outside the cave, seemingly waiting for them.

"Hehehe. I never thought you would actually fall into such an obvious trap for the sake of an ordinary person."

A clump of black mud appeared on the ground, and then surged into the shape of Matou Tsukikum.

"Matou Rikiken, you really didn't die. Give Fujimura-nee back to me!"

"Hehehe. How could I possibly die so easily from the body I've gone through so much trouble to obtain?"

Matou Ryouken pulled Fujimura Taiga out of the bird-shaped monster's mouth and turned to walk into the cave.

"If you want this person back, come in and find me."

"Stop right there!"

Emiya Shirou immediately ran forward.

"Shirou, watch out!"

Artoria pulled Shirou Emiya, who was charging forward, back, thus avoiding Garuda's peck.

It seems that to get in, we must first defeat this bird-shaped monster.

Artoria immediately drew her sword and slashed, but Garuda easily dodged it and used it to fly into the air.

"Damn, this guy takes off so fast!"

At this point, the disadvantage of having short range as a Saber class becomes apparent.

Should we use the Wind King Barrier?

Artoria was torn.

Artoria had already used up a lot of her magic power to travel, and she couldn't afford to use it up any more in order to rescue Fujimura Taiga later.

Garuda, however, had no worries. It rose into the air and flapped its wings in the direction of Shirou and Artoria, sending countless feathers flying towards the two like bullets.

"Shirou!"

Without thinking, Artoria instinctively ran to Shirou Emiya, dispelled the Wind King Barrier, and blew away all the feathers.

"Saber, the defense is up to you."

Emiya Shirou closed his eyes and imagined Archer's figure in his mind.

"Projection, begin!"

A jet-black longbow appeared in Shirou's hand.

"Projection, commence! Pseudo-Spiral Sword!"

Shirou suddenly produced another sword, its blade twisting and turning as its name suggests.

The sword is modeled after Caladeboga, the famous sword of Fergus Mark Roy, a hero in the Celtic myth of Ulster.

As if he already knew what to do, Shirou placed the sword on the bow, pulled the bowstring, and the sword was drawn into an arrow.

With a flick of his finger, a whooshing sound cut through the air, piercing one of the bird-like monster's wings before it could react.

Garuda, having lost its balance, immediately plummeted.

Artoria naturally wouldn't let this good opportunity pass by, and before the bird-like monster even landed, she severed its neck with a single sword strike.

After dealing with Garuda, Artoria immediately ran back. Seeing Shirou standing motionless, she hurriedly asked, "Shirou, are you alright?"

"It seems my magic is a bit depleted; my fingers are still trembling involuntarily."

Emiya Shirou forced a smile.

Artoria disarmed herself, took Shirou's hands in her own, and gently placed them on her chest, making a gesture as if in prayer.

"Merlin once told me that doing this could alleviate the pain of his subordinates. Although I don't understand the principle behind it, I tried it on Lord Gawain, Lord Tristan, and Lord Lancelot, and they all said it worked."

Feeling the warmth emanating from Artoria's hands and the subtle softness along the edge of her little finger, Shirou's face flushed red, and he didn't know where to look.

Seeing Artoria's incredibly devout expression, Shirou felt too embarrassed to expose Merlin's lie.

"I...I'm much better now. Let's go, let's hurry and save Fujimura-nee!"

Shirou forced himself to move and pulled Artoria into the cave.

Upon entering the cave, a cold, damp atmosphere mixed with the stench of blood assaulted the senses, making one feel extremely uncomfortable.

If it weren't for saving people, Shirou wouldn't have been able to stay even a second longer and would have turned around and left immediately.

Deep within the cave, one can faintly hear the low growls of monsters and the sounds of reptiles rubbing against the rock walls as they move through the cave.

Artoria immediately donned her armor and walked ahead of Shirou.

The entrance to the cave wasn't large; even the bird-like monster from before couldn't squeeze in. But the further they went in, the more spacious the space became. The space where the two were now was estimated to be over fifty meters deep, and it was still expanding.

Shirou estimated that the two of them had been walking into the cave for more than ten minutes, but they hadn't encountered a single monster, which was very unusual.

Artoria sensed something was wrong. She turned around and whispered, "Shirou, I'll do everything I can to rescue Taiga first. Then you take Taiga and run away. Don't look back. I'll buy you some time. Don't worry, I'm the strongest class Servant. I'll definitely escape."

"Hehehe, have you finished discussing? Then it's my turn to speak."

Shirou and Artoria looked ahead and saw a blue-haired youth standing in front of a stone wall with several huge caves, surrounded by more than a dozen different types of magical beasts.

Despite possessing a young body, Matou Ryuken's soul was already decayed, so he still habitually referred to himself as "this old man."

"Matou Ranken, where did you hide Fujimura-nee?"

Shirou looked around but didn't see Fujimura Taiga.

"Hehehe, don't worry, she's right behind me."

Matou Ryouken took two steps to the side, revealing a large bottle as tall as an adult, with Fujimura Taiga's head peeking out from the bottle's opening.

"I've put some interesting little insects inside, but they're currently dormant. As time goes on, the insects in the jar will gradually awaken, and then this woman will become their bait. If you want to save her, you'd better hurry."