Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

Chiron turned around and shouted.

"Teacher, I..."

Achilles was both surprised and delighted by Chiron's rise, and for a moment he was stunned and at a loss for what to do.

"Don't call me teacher. I am not in a position to be addressed like that by you."

The duel is over; you should now address me as the "Black" Archer.

Just as the "red" cavalry was about to retort, the "black" archers shouted loudly again.

"Run, Achilles!"

No one can stop you! As long as you live, there is still hope to turn the tide!

"Well……!"

Achilles was deeply shaken.

No matter what circumstances he encountered in his life, he never showed his back to the enemy.

After all, there had never been a stronger opponent than him, and more importantly—

Achilles, who takes dying on the battlefield for granted, cannot accept the humiliating fact of fleeing in front of a little girl and his teacher.

Chiron's time has come to an end. Achilles could tell that the release of his Noble Phantasm had consumed his last bit of magical power.

Therefore, this was a precious opportunity he created for himself by sacrificing his life.

“I understand, Archer.”

Despite a moment's hesitation, Achilles nodded to Chiron and then vanished as a spirit.

"Truly the fastest hero in history..."

Sajou Aika sighed softly.

It all happened in an instant, and Rider's presence was completely undetectable.

He possesses the highest level of martial arts, defense, and speed among all the heroic spirits, along with numerous weapons including spears and chariots, and the defensive treasure he has yet to use.

The "Red" Knight is undoubtedly a terrifying Servant who can rival Karna; I really wish I could turn him into a fighting force too...

But forget it.

In any case, all Servants will eventually become his pawns.

We must keep working hard for the sake of the swordsman...!

Sajou Aika clenched her fist to encourage herself as she walked toward the "Black" archer.

Chiron stared fearlessly at the approaching girl and her black servants.

Soon, his consciousness will be taken away, and he will become a puppet of Ayaka Sajou.

However, he did not feel regret—because he had already entrusted the hope of life to Achilles.

I actually lied earlier; I didn't mean it sincerely when I asked Rider not to call me "teacher".

If that person hadn't been Achilles, his proud student, he wouldn't have risked his life like that. At the very least, after having his core pierced by the stake, he would have felt sorry for himself, accepted his fate, and simply disappeared.

"What a troublesome guy, even until the very end," Chiron thought with a smile.

"...Saber probably doesn't know what you're doing right now, does he?"

"We can't let him know."

Sajō Aika said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Saber really didn't know, Chiron thought with relief, confirming that he hadn't misjudged him.

If that's the case, Fiore probably doesn't need to worry anymore.

As he was completely swallowed by the shadow, Chiron exhaled a sigh of relief.

The girl he met as a Servant was both his Master and his last student.

Like Achilles, Chiron prayed for Fiore's safety and continued brilliance in the future during his final moments.

Despite knowing this thought is arrogant, I still hope to teach, learn from, guide, and be guided by humanity today.

Even for a troubled girl like Ayaka Sajou, Chiron actually hoped that she could get on the right path.

But this isn't my job...

Saber will teach her properly in my place, won't she...?

That concludes our discussion on archers.

The wise and loving sages disappeared from the earth.

Instead, there are dark archers who have lost their rationality and only know how to spread rain of death.

"One, two, three, four, five... that makes it the sixth one~"

Sajō Aika, standing in the darkness, resembled a noblewoman counting the number of cream puffs on her plate.

Or perhaps, she is a goddess surrounded by calamity beasts and wearing the Crown of Ten (Domina Coronam).

"Alright~ Let's find the next target~"

With an incredibly light heart, the girl continued her journey toward the moment of final battle (Dies irae).

----------------

Volume 5, Chapter 240: Shirou, a physical education student, becomes Ata's husband!

Arrows pierced the air, continuously passing through the corridors of the sky garden.

Shirou dodged the arrows fired by the "Red" archers as he approached her.

After defeating Karna, Atalanta immediately stopped fleeing and turned to launch a fierce attack on Shirou.

This is the third time Shirou has clashed with the "Red" Archer in this Holy Grail War, and he has fought her even more times than the "Red" Lancer.

Even the most foolish person can grasp some techniques, and a bow-wielding genius like Shirou would have long since been able to clearly see through the principles of his opponent's bow-wielding—

The arrows from the "Red" archers no longer posed any threat to Shirou.

She might be a hunting genius, a lightning-fast hunter.

However, in terms of skill in using a bow alone, he was clearly inferior to outstanding warriors like Shirou, Chiron, and Karna.

Atalanta excels in the support role in team battles; she cannot fully utilize her strengths in one-on-one situations.

"That's enough...!"

A longsword that Shirou fired exploded in front of Atalanta, the power of "Imagine Collapse" blasting her away.

"Gah, ha...!"

The girl landed awkwardly.

Although she managed to avoid most of the damage at the crucial moment, Atalanta still suffered a great deal of impact.

Although I was extremely annoyed, the "Black" Swordsman was indeed very strong... definitely not a monster that I could handle!

Atalanta was a girl who grew up in the forest, so she understood the importance of flexibility.

If it were in her previous life, she would never have tried to fight such a powerful enemy as the "Black" Swordsman, whom she could not possibly defeat.

As for the archery competition, the outcome was already decided in the last duel; it was a complete and utter defeat for me.

But that's the Holy Grail War; because they were assigned to different factions, they could only fight to the very last moment.

If he and I hadn't been assigned to opposing camps, then—

—Boring. Now I just need to focus on how to kill the man in front of me.

Atalanta shook her head to clear her mind of distractions.

Now that I have appeared in the world as the "Red" archer, I must defeat him no matter what...!

"Wait a minute, excuse me, could we perhaps take a temporary truce?"

"………………ah?"

Atalanta looked stunned and put down the nocked bow.

Shirou scratched the back of his neck with a very embarrassed expression:

"I just made a promise with Karna to help him rescue his Master who is being held captive by the Assassins."

"What……?"

Atalanta frowned suspiciously.

Shirou said, "Although the Masters sent by the Mage's Association are also involved in the Holy Grail War, they have actually lost, so there is no point in keeping them here any longer."

Her Majesty the Queen of this courtyard is currently preoccupied with her own problems, and I feel that now is a good opportunity to rescue those people.

"Archer, can you lead the way for me?"

Atalanta paused for a moment, then spoke: "What good would it do me to do this?"

"Among those people, there must be one who is nominally your Master."

"..."

Atalanta is certainly not a demon.

Although they had no connection whatsoever, the other party was, after all, a magician who had specially prepared the catalyst to summon him.

Atalanta truly couldn't bear to watch him be dominated by Assassin.

If possible, Atalanta also hoped that the guy could at least save his life.

However, there was one factor that the girl strongly resisted—

"I don't want to. Who knows what your scheme is?"

"What? You're still angry?"

"...!"

Atalanta's beautiful cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment.

At the end of her second duel with Shirou, she extended an olive branch to him.

At that time, Shirou told her, "Your Master should have been controlled by Assassin." After thinking it over, Atalanta asked.

—Swordsman of the "Black", you have already parted ways with the "Black" faction, haven't you?

—In that case, would you like to cooperate with me?

The other party promptly rejected the offer.

This was the first time she had been rejected by a man, so she was inexplicably hurt.

After that, she officially decided to help Amakusa Shiro, partly out of spite.

"What's done is done! Who cares! Don't be so self-important, kid!"

Shirou looked speechless: He clearly cares a lot about it.

"Archer, don't forget, you and I still have a bet—"

I won before, so you have to listen to me, right?

"Ha...haa ...

Atalanta was speechless.

"As a wager on your victory over me in archery, haven't I already told you about the 'Black' faction?"

"Yes, yes, that's right. But later I also asked about your Master's situation, didn't I?"

So in this respect, we're even.

Archer, I haven't claimed my "prize" for beating you in the duel yet.

"..."

Shirou's shameless attitude shocked the girl.

This kid... he clearly has a cute, simple, and honest face, how could he say such shameless things?