Chapter 369: The Red–Black Vanguard Clash
"Whoa—!"
Even though this wasn't his first time watching a naked-eye 3D movie, the moment the green rain of light poured down from the screen, Shibamatsu still reflexively tilted his head to dodge.
As a result, his forehead collided solidly with Li Ri'ang's, who had made the exact same move.
"Ow—sorry!"
"My bad!"
They hurriedly apologized to each other, then, upon seeing the awkward looks on each other's faces, burst out laughing.
"Figures. It's a movie by Shinji Matou, after all."
"Yeah, it's ridiculously realistic."
Maybe because they'd just shared a moment of synchronized stupidity, the distance between Li Ri'ang and Shibamatsu seemed to shrink considerably. They even started chatting about their impressions of Fate/Apocrypha.
Off to the side, Fujita listened to their cheerful conversation with a face full of disbelief.
One of these guys barely spoke passable Japanese, the other didn't know Chinese at all and was communicating with a mix of Japanese and English—and yet they were chatting away like old friends. This was beyond absurd!
"They say otaku know no borders, that all it takes is a glance to understand each other—but isn't it pitch-black in a movie theater? You guys are way too good at this!"
Fujita's complaint failed to snap his friend back to reality. Li Ri'ang remained fully immersed in his friendly exchange with his new buddy.
"Hey, don't you think Shinji went a bit too hard with the opening of Fate/Apocrypha this time? Two Masters dead right off the bat—this is even more brutal than Fate/Zero."
Watching fireworks explode nonstop across the massive screen, Li Ri'ang voiced his concern.
Moments later, he realized just how naïve that thought had been.
This wasn't "going too hard"—this was a full-on bento giveaway.
Those two dead Masters didn't even count as a splash. At best, they were the warm-up bell before the real action.
"ROAR—!"
The first to sense her Master's death amid the chaos was his Servant—Frankenstein. She let out a furious roar toward Atalanta, who had just fired her Noble Phantasm, and immediately activated her own.
"Come… with me…! Blasted Tree!!"
Frankenstein drove her war hammer, [Bridal Chest], into the ground, removing all restraints and releasing her full output.
With her Master gone, there was no longer any reason to hold back.
RUMBLE—!!
A towering, tree-shaped cascade of lightning erupted in the plaza, branching outward as it advanced while tracking its targets.
The violent current surged toward the Red Faction's formation like the First Hokage's Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees.
"Ahahaha! What a fascinating Noble Phantasm!"
Amid a hearty, slightly unhinged laugh, a chariot burst forth from the Red Faction.
Standing atop it was a green-haired man. He dashed straight to the front of the Red Servants and used his own body to block the Noble Phantasm unleashed by Frankenstein.
"Uuu…"
The female Servant let out a soft whimper, voicing her unwillingness to accept the outcome.
Her Noble Phantasm was overwhelmingly powerful—but its activation required her body to completely cease functioning. In other words, death.
In theory, there was a small chance that the lightning strike might give birth to a second Frankenstein-like monster.
But this was a movie directed by Shinji Matou—and Frankenstein wasn't the protagonist.
Naturally, there would be no miraculous gacha pull.
Thus, the girl who tried to take her enemies down with her own life ultimately achieved nothing at all.
"Mm…"
Thud
The mechanical girl, her systems shut down, collapsed stiffly onto the ground.
Her journey in the Trifas Holy Grail War ended there.
"Looks like that's the end of it! Then it's my turn! Charge, my comrades!"
Seeing Frankenstein fall, the green-haired man cracked his neck, leapt back onto his chariot, and drove it straight toward the Black Faction.
This man was none other than Achilles, the legendary hero of the Trojan War. It was his invincible body that had blocked Frankenstein's attack.
In fact, Achilles possessed a dedicated defensive Noble Phantasm—[Akhilleus Kosmos]—which he had even lent to Astolfo in the original Fate/Apocrypha.
Unfortunately, using a Noble Phantasm that required lengthy explanations would have wasted precious screen time in a movie, so Shinji decisively changed it to Achilles tanking the attack with his own body.
After all, something like [Akhilleus Kosmos] needed exposition. But pair "invincible body" with Achilles, and Western audiences needed no explanation whatsoever.
It was the same as showing Chinese viewers a red-faced general riding a crimson steed, wielding a Green Dragon Crescent Blade—no one would need to be told that Guan Yu himself had descended.
"Daughter—! Let your father avenge you!"
Seeing Frankenstein return to the Throne of Heroes, Charles Babbage completely lost his composure. Steam erupted from every joint of his mechanical body as he charged straight toward Achilles' chariot.
The massive, intricately detailed mechanical armor covering Babbage was itself his Noble Phantasm. Relying on sheer weight alone, the steam-powered giant smashed head-on into Achilles' chariot, flipping it over violently.
"Tch!"
Achilles rolled across the ground and sprang back to his feet—just in time to see a colossal steel hammer crashing down toward him.
"Come—let us duel! Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Achilles hurled his spear.
And thus—
Player Achilles has issued a duel request to Player Babbage.
Player Babbage has accepted the duel.
Within the duel domain, Noble Phantasms are disabled. Only physical combat is allowed.
Player Babbage has died.
Player Babbage has exited the Holy Grail War while cursing loudly.
Player Achilles is victorious.
. . .
[Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē: Spear-tip of the Star Traversing the Skies] was the spear gifted by Chiron at the wedding of Achilles' parents. It creates a domain dedicated solely to heroic duels—an immense thaumaturgy on par with a Reality Marble.
This Noble Phantasm completely isolates time and the surrounding environment, forming an arena that will not dissolve until one of the combatants is defeated.
To put it bluntly, it's basically dragging someone into a private room for a one-on-one deathmatch.
As for why Babbage lost, the reason was painfully simple.
Within the battlefield created by [Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē], all blessings, magecraft, and even Noble Phantasms are rendered unusable. Victory is decided purely by the combatants' own skills and physical ability.
But all of Babbage's combat power came from the steam armor wrapped around his body—his Noble Phantasm, [Dimension of Steam].
A scientist from the Industrial Revolution era going hand-to-hand against a barbarian hero from ancient Greek myth?
That was like a band of robbers trying to mug Heracles—nothing short of suicide.
Even Achilles himself hadn't expected his opponent to be such a frail scholar. When the duel arena formed, he froze in disbelief.
It was like thinking you'd arranged a duet with a beautiful, sweet-voiced idol… only for Chris Chan to show up instead. The gap was simply too brutal.
But what choice did Achilles have?
When you're the one who picked the fight, you have to see it through—tears and all!
Otherwise, the "Private Room" you personally set up won't let anyone leave.
The ones left speechless weren't just Achilles—the entire theater fell silent.
"..." × N
Shinji had chosen Babbage precisely because of his peculiar relationship with Frankenstein, something that had already been set up earlier when the Black Faction Servants gathered.
The audience had expected some deeper emotional exchange between this mechanical father and daughter.
Instead, in the blink of an eye, it turned into a double-death tragedy.
At least Shinji showed Babbage a shred of mercy—he didn't depict how Babbage lost the duel, only showing the final result: Achilles' victory.
Even so, the audience couldn't help but feel frustrated.
Frankenstein and Babbage—two Servants!
These were Heroic Spirits, not stray huskies!
And yet they died without accomplishing anything.
Why was this green-haired guy so absurdly strong?!
Only when Achilles finally declared his true name to the Black Faction Servants did realization dawn on everyone.
"Oh… so he's called Achilles."
Yeah. That explained everything.
It was like how Yan Liang and Wen Chou died so abruptly—yet once you learned that the one who killed them was Guan Yu, it all suddenly felt perfectly reasonable.
As a great hero of the Trojan War, Achilles enjoyed immense fame across Europe and the West, ranking among the top tier of heroes, second only to"Heracles himself.
Unfortunately, that was as far as Achilles' time in the spotlight went.
Just like Frankenstein and her "father," he wasn't the protagonist of this movie. For non-protagonists, there was only one possible route—an early exit.
After cutting down "Yan Liang" (Frankenstein) and "Wen Chou" (Babbage), Guan Achilles Yu continued charging deeper into the Black Faction's ranks, trying to leverage his invincible body to rack up even greater results.
Achilles' breakthrough charge was a tactic the Red Faction had planned well in advance—use his invincible body to trade for maximum damage.
Indeed, Achilles' heel was a famously well-known weakness—but only if you could actually hit it.
This time, Achilles had been summoned as a Rider, the class with the greatest mobility. Most Servants could only eat dust behind him.
To be fair, the Red Faction's plan was downright nasty: let the invincible Achilles rampage through the enemy formation, sowing chaos, and once the Black Faction was thrown into disarray, have Atalanta carpet-bomb the field with her Noble Phantasm.
Sadly, the Red Faction overlooked one crucial detail.
Achilles' mobility was indeed terrifying—most people couldn't catch him.
But things changed entirely if someone used taunt.
"Smile of the Stheno!"
Just as Achilles was about to forcibly take down another Black Faction Servant, Chiron—who had been held back as a surprise trump card—appeared, carrying Stheno.
The moment the goddess made her entrance, she unleashed her Noble Phantasm on Achilles, drowning him in her intoxicating whispers.
Achilles wasn't a lecher by nature, but as a Rider, his Magic Resistance was only Rank C. In the face of Stheno's Noble Phantasm, it was utterly insufficient.
Even if Achilles was only charmed for the briefest instant, Chiron caught that opening with perfect precision.
A fleeting chance, seized without hesitation—that was what defined an Archer on the battlefield!
Antares Snipe!
Chiron's arrow flew true, striking Achilles squarely in the tendon of his heel.
"AAARGH!"
Achilles let out a pained howl as the arrow pierced his weakness.
Chiron gave him no chance to activate his duel field. A second arrow followed immediately after.
Whoosh—!
With his invincibility gone, Achilles was cleanly headshotted by Chiron, collapsing to the ground without suspense.
The great hero—Achilles—has been defeated.
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