Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

A spacetime distortion appeared out of nowhere, from which emerged a strangely shaped longsword, which shot out without hesitation at the pink-haired cavalryman.

"Ah ah!?"

Astolfo turned his head and narrowly avoided the flying blade.

"That was dangerous! You're definitely not Saber! Otherwise, you couldn't have done something like that! Luckily, I reacted quickly enough, or I would have been forced to retreat!"

"It's alright, you'll be leaving soon."

Rider did dodge, but unfortunately there are attacks in this world that are meaningless even if you dodge them.

Shirou snapped his fingers, detonating the blade that Rider had dodged earlier.

"boom--!!"

The "Fantasy Collapse" exploded on the ground, affecting Rider, who was blown several meters away by the aftershocks alone.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch... This is too much!"

Astolfo stood up, his face stern, rubbing his bruised waist.

Rider is, after all, a Heroic Spirit, and won't be killed so easily.

Moreover, Astolfo, one of Charlemagne's twelve warriors, is said to be a brute who "evaporated his rationality" and an adventurer who traveled the world and created many legends.

Through his adventures, he acquired many magical artifacts—such as horns, eagles, grimoires, and gleaming golden lances.

"Okay~ I'm really angry now~ I'm going to get serious from here on out~!"

When Astolfo looked up, the excitement on his face froze completely—

"Hey?"

Rider stared in disbelief at the swarm of Noble Phantasms hovering in the night sky, blotting out the sun.

Each sword possesses a magic that is absolutely no less powerful than his beloved gun, and now all of them are aimed at him.

In the blink of an eye, the murderous blades fell like a torrential rain.

Shirou didn't use this move in his fight against Lancer because he felt it was unlikely to be effective against a great hero of that caliber.

However, if the enemy were an ordinary Servant, this volley of fire would be enough to blow away their Spirit Origin.

"...Aye!"

Astolfo screamed and lunged forward, nimbly dodging the attack.

"How could this be! You actually have so many Noble Phantasms! I thought I had the most with four! This is too much of a cheat!"

As Astolfo yelled and screamed, he entered serious escape mode.

Faced with an opponent who could not withstand dozens of Noble Phantasms thrown at once, and whose strength was insufficient to contend with them, and whose trickery would be impossible to obtain, he still showed no fear in his eyes.

The movement was so light and agile, like a wild rabbit leaping through the forest, skillfully dodging the sword shot by Shirou.

Although Shirou also tried using "Fantasy Collapse", it had little effect.

As long as you escape the area before the magic attached to the blade takes effect, you won't be affected by the damage. This is Astolfo's strategy.

No, she probably didn't even think about it.

"Don't run away."

"I don't want it!"

Rider made faces at Shirou as he fled, and Shirou responded by summoning more swords.

Although Astolfo was initially quite cocky, he soon—

"Waaaaah!! This absolutely won't do, absolutely won't do!! If it were a berserker, that would be a different story, but I can't win on my own at all!! I'm just a bottom-tier weakling among the twelve warriors!?"

How could anyone possibly defeat this cheat weapon that's even worse than the Joyeuse Ordre?! Anyone, please come save me!!!

"That's it."

Several swords descended from the sky, about to pierce Rider's body.

Astolfo seemed to be about to summon some kind of Noble Phantasm, but before that, a dark figure rushed towards her with astonishing force.

"Step back, Rider, leave this to me."

A burly man wearing silver armor with a large open front, his chest marked with shimmering green marks.

The knight-like man drew his life-size silver greatsword from his back and stepped forward as if protecting a young girl, unleashing a powerful swing of the greatsword that emanated intense true ether.

His exquisite swordsmanship, unleashed at the critical moment, cleaved off all the blades flying in from all directions.

"Whoa! I almost thought I was going back to the Throne of Heroes! Thank you!"

Astolfo thanked the man dressed as a swordsman with tears in his eyes.

The man merely glanced at it, remaining silent and fixed on Shirou, his eyes filled with fighting spirit towards the red-haired boy.

"Go and support Lancer and the others. I'll handle this guy."

"Is everything alright? He's really strong, isn't he? He should be even stronger than Berserker, right?"

Astolfo asked with concern.

Deeper into the forest, the Servants of the "Black" faction have already engaged in battle with the "Red" Berserker and the pursuing Rider and Archer.

However, Siegfried, the "Black" Saber, did not join the battle but headed straight here.

He was not sent to support Rider, but for his own purposes.

Last night, he swore in front of everyone that he would solve the threat posed by the red-haired boy himself, and now is the time to fulfill his promise.

"Oh, then I'll leave this place to you?"

Astolfo is a Servant who excels at support rather than one-on-one combat; indeed, his value is maximized when he has more teammates.

See you later, you cheating brat!

Rider Asashirou waved and then turned his back.

"Who is the cheating teenager?"

Shirou smiled wryly as he watched Astolfo disappear into the stillness of the forest in the dead of night.

Wait a minute. That direction doesn't seem to be the battlefield where the Berserker is rampaging. Where are you going?

The "Black" swordsman gripped his sword with both hands, his expression serious, and silently assumed his stance.

"By the way, aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Shirou asked.

Although it was a pity to let go of a kill that could have been easily obtained, the man in front of him was not someone he could ignore.

"That's not necessary."

The swordsman said in a deep voice, his slightly distressed expression suggesting that all that was needed for conversation was a sword.

"All right……"

Shirou drew the holy sword from the void.

It seems that his act of impersonating Saber has made the real Saber very unhappy.

Siegfried raised his greatsword above his head, cleaving through the air, and took a firm step forward.

After tonight, there will only be one "Black" Servant who can call himself Saber.

"This is truly a rare sight."

A girl dressed as a hunter knelt on one knee on a tree branch, looking down at the two "black" Servants fighting.

This beautiful girl with animal ears and a tail for some unknown reason is none other than Archer from the "Red" faction—

Atalanta, a female hunter in Greek mythology known for her speed.

Her original mission was to assist or stop the rampaging Berserker at the Master's command.

Besides her, there was also Rider who had followed them without permission.

Speaking of Rider, that guy kept saying he came along because he was "worried about your safety," but as soon as he saw an enemy appear, he abandoned her and rushed in without thinking.

Atalanta felt it wouldn't matter if she left that guy alone, so she tracked down the "Black" Saber who was acting alone.

I was hoping for a chance to snag a bargain, but things took an unexpected turn.

Atalanta frowned slightly as she continued to observe the two members of the "black" faction below.

We have a Berserker over there who can't understand human language and acts recklessly. What's going on here?

Is it internal strife?

"That's why I say men are completely unreliable; their brains are all muscle."

In any case, it's a good thing for her.

Atalanta devised a plan in her mind to eliminate both of them at the same time.

That said, those two guys are really amazing.

If he lived in his own time, he would have been a powerful figure who could rival Hercules.

The red-haired boy, in particular, displayed dazzlingly fast and exquisite swordsmanship.

As for the black-clad greatswordsman, although his swordsmanship was slightly inferior, he was still within a hair's breadth of the red-haired boy, and his martial arts were still unparalleled.

Moreover, he adopted more aggressive tactics in the battle, which led to him being attacked.

However, the red-haired boy's slash did not cause any damage when it landed on him, and in the end it only resulted in a minor scratch.

With an aggressive offensive, the "Black" swordsman forced his enemy, whose swordsmanship was slightly superior to his own, to retreat continuously.

"Armor of Fafnir"

This is a Noble Phantasm that brings to life the story of the great German hero Siegfried slaying a dragon and bathing in its blood.

It can nullify physical attacks and magic attacks equivalent to Rank B.

For attacks of grade A or higher, the defense value equivalent to grade B will be deducted before calculating the damage.

When a hero uses their Noble Phantasm in a legitimate way, you can gain a defense stat equivalent to B+.

But just like in the legend, you can't get a defense bonus if you don't get splashed with blood on your back.

Not only can you not hide or cover up behind your back, but you will also be seen as a vital point, resulting in more fatal damage when attacked.

This is also why Gordes was unwilling to reveal Saber's real name to his own people.

Siegfried is undoubtedly the strongest Saber, but because he is so famous, it would be very disadvantageous if his real name were known.

"It looks like there's some kind of defensive Noble Phantasm... Okay, it's decided."

Atalanta took out her beloved bow—the Tauropolos, a treasure that had received the blessing of the goddess Artemis.

Archer aimed his first arrow of the Holy Grail War at the red-haired boy.

On one hand, the "black" swordsman possesses a kind of invulnerability to blades and spears; on the other hand—

Atalanta's intuition, as the best hunter in Greece, told her that this guy was indeed the greater threat.

After a moment's thought, the arrow was aimed at the red-haired boy's forehead.

Although it was late at night in the forest, the visibility was frighteningly low.

But the hunter's eyesight was good enough to see a coin on the ground several kilometers away, and she was confident she could kill it with a single blow.

However, there is one very strange thing.

Just before Atalanta released the bowstring, a bow also appeared in the red-haired boy's hand.

Despite being forced to retreat repeatedly by the "black" swordsmen, he abandoned his two-handed sword grip at this juncture and instead took out a bow.

"?"

Although Atalanta had a bad feeling for a moment, she still shot the arrow without hesitation—

The huntress in Greek mythology was unwavering in her belief in her skills.

No matter how powerful or cunning the prey, she was confident that her arrow would pierce its life.

"Let your blood mark the beginning of the Holy Grail War—"

With a whisper, his fingers loosened the bowstring.