FATE: Target of Grand Master

Archer, the Heroic Spirit Emiya, wanders through the forest on his way to Ryudouji Temple. As a potential future for Emiya Shirou, he sheds blood on his hands in his quest to become a "hero of justice," an ideal "borrowed" from Emiya Kiritsugu. In the end, however, he is betrayed by the very person he saves and dies alone, clinging to his so-called ideal.

He didn't want to see his past repeat itself, so he originally hoped to change Shirou Emiya's attitude, and even "redeem" himself by killing his past self.

However, the Holy Grail War was going from bad to worse, and he simply didn't have the energy to do what he wanted to do.

Unbeknownst to them, Emiya had arrived near his destination.

Putting aside all distractions, the Heroic Spirit Emiya focused on the reconnaissance mission Rin had given him.

Using the superior vision granted to him by the Archer class, he could clearly see the situation at several cave entrances, even at night.

Luckily, after a short while of waiting, a person emerged from the cave entrance—or rather, a follower.

This man was tall; even from a distance, one could confirm that he was well over 2 meters tall. His muscular physique not only reflected his excellence as a soldier but also gave him an imposing aura.

However, this person used chains to fix a piece of fur to his head, seemingly not wanting others to recognize his face.

Just as the Heroic Spirit Emiya was pondering who this unfamiliar Servant was, he was surprised to find that the Servant had turned his head, and his gaze seemed to be directed at his own location.

Immediately afterwards, a giant bow appeared in the servant's hand. He drew the bow and nocked a sword, and an arrow with the power of a missile shot straight toward his location.

As the arrow grew larger in his field of vision, the Heroic Spirit Emiya instinctively dodged.

What's going on?

Emiya was puzzled.

This Servant's extremely keen senses, the power of his bow and arrow, and the precision of his long-range shooting all indicate that this Servant is an Archer.

However, in a Holy Grail War, there can only be one Servant of each class. This is a very basic common sense and one of the fundamental rules of the Holy Grail War, which cannot be broken.

Could this Servant, like Gilgamesh, be a remnant of the previous Holy Grail War?

Emiya immediately denied this speculation.

Gilgamesh is also an Archer-class Servant. If this Servant is an Archer from a previous Holy Grail War, he must at least be a Servant left over from the Third Holy Grail War.

The Third Holy Grail War took place more than 70 years ago. The amount of magical energy a Servant who has been present since then would consume is unimaginable, let alone a Servant who maintains such strength. The amount of magical energy consumed is simply astronomical.

Before the Heroic Spirit Emiya could figure out his opponent's strength, a second arrow flew towards the direction he was trying to dodge with unstoppable force.

Stepping onto the trunk of a thick tree, the Heroic Spirit Emiya pushed off backward, changing his direction of movement and once again dodging the enemy Servant's attack.

Simply dodging wasn't his style. Although he didn't know why the other party also had abilities comparable to the Archer class, he was a genuine Archer, and ranged attacks were no problem for him.

"Projection, begin! Red Plains Hound!"

A black demonic sword appeared out of thin air in the hand of the Heroic Spirit Emiya.

The sword is entirely black and comes from the magic sword of Beowulf, the protagonist of "Beowulf," one of the oldest narrative poems in English literature.

Emiya nocked it onto the bowstring, and as he repeatedly drew the bow, the Red Plains Hound was stretched and twisted, its originally symmetrical blade contorted into an asymmetrical, irregular arrow with exposed spikes.

With the bowstring released, the Red Plains Hound shot out, its powerful magic causing the surrounding air to whistle as it flew through the air.

Despite the distance, the Heroic Spirit Emiya was confident that his arrow would hit its mark.

As expected, the Red Plains Hound hit its target squarely, but when the dust settled, the target was unharmed.

How is that possible?

Emiya was utterly shocked.

He personally witnessed the Redfield Hound hit its opponent squarely, and the opponent didn't even use any defensive measures.

Emiya was very confident in the power of his arrows; even against the tough-skinned Hercules, his arrows were enough to severely injure his opponent.

This enemy is strange!

The masked servant did not attack again, but instead provocatively raised his right hand, which was not holding the bow, and bent the four fingers together towards himself, signaling the Heroic Spirit Emiya to come again.

"Tch, arrogant bastard, fine, I'll grant your wish!"

"Projection, begin! The Indestructible Supreme Saint!"

Like the Red Plains Hound and the Pseudo-Spiral Sword, the Undying Saint also used the legendary and famous weapon—the Holy Sword Durandal.

This sword is one of the three great holy swords of Europe. Its former owners include Hector, a hero from ancient Greek mythology, and Roland, the leader of the twelve knights under Charlemagne.

Legend has it that this sword never breaks and there is nothing it cannot cut. The power it can unleash as an arrow is even greater than that of the Red Plains Hound.

Emiya stood on a thick tree branch, drew his bow to its fullest extent, and aimed at the masked Servant. A massive amount of magical energy even dissipated before the arrow was released.

With a flick of the finger, the indestructible Supreme Saint shot out like a meteor, its immense power carving a huge circle around everything in its path, with flames occasionally burning around the circle.

Despite the even more powerful attack from the Heroic Spirit Emiya, the masked Servant remained unmoved and took the hit directly.

Bang!

The violent explosion knocked down a lot of soil and rocks from the mountainside.

However, just like the previous Red Plains Hound, the indestructible Supreme Saint did not cause the masked Servant any damage whatsoever.

This time, however, the Heroic Spirit Emiya finally saw through the clues.

The indestructible Supreme Saint disintegrated the moment it touched the masked Servant. This was not due to physical damage from touching a harder and more solid object, but rather a collapse caused by a fundamental conceptual negation.

That masked servant possesses equipment that negates the weapon projected from itself.

Emiya then focused his attention on the fur covering the masked Servant's face. The texture of that fur was clearly extraordinary, as if it came from some kind of divine or magical beast.

Considering that this being could completely reject the products of human civilization, kill and skin a magical beast with such abilities, and possess such a massive physique and superb martial arts skills, the Heroic Spirit Emiya had a guess in his mind.

But why did he appear in this manner?

Is this also a transformation of black mud?

He provoked the other party again, but no further attacks came. The masked servant spoke for the first time.

"What? Archer-class Servant, are you so terrified that you dare not draw your bowstring again? Or have you realized that your weapon cannot harm me?"

To maximize the power of his arrows, the Heroic Spirit Emiya had deliberately closed the distance considerably while dodging the masked Servant's attacks. Although there was still a distance of about 100 meters, the Heroic Spirit Emiya was ready to abandon the attack and instead think about how to retreat.

Even though they didn't uncover all of Matou Ryouken's secrets, this masked Servant's strength was exceptionally powerful, so bringing this news back was worthwhile.

Having made up his mind, the Heroic Spirit Emiya turned and ran. However, he hadn't gone far when he heard someone behind him say, "Retreating when you realize you can't win is a wise choice. However, the difference in strength and speed between you and me is not enough to allow you to escape."

Emiya turned around in surprise and found that the masked Servant was less than ten meters away from him.