The Holy Church was engulfed in chaos—
The serpent's furious roars, the activation of magecraft, beams of magical artillery, flashes of holy light, and the sizzling corrosion of venom eating through stone.
Contrasted with the dead silence of the surrounding forest, this small church could only be described as a raging tempest.
Yet amidst this chaotic storm, a single crisp gunshot echoed sharply—
BANG—!
Two finger-fired bullets sliced through the fearsome violet-black poison, speeding directly towards Semiramis.
Clang—!
A barrier formed of multiple hexagonal mirrors appeared instantly before Semiramis, blocking Kairi Sisigou's finger-shot curse bullets.
"Lowly necromancer...!" Semiramis hissed under her breath. Of all things, she despised modern magi the most; their methods, their aspirations—all unbearably petty and low.
Facing modern magecraft attacks, Semiramis felt nothing but contempt—sheer disdain.
However, contempt or not, she still needed to block Sisigou's attacks. As powerful a magus and heroic spirit as she was, Semiramis wasn't invulnerable to modern magecraft. Although unable to kill her outright, being struck by Sisigou's cursed finger-shots would still be irritating.
Perhaps not dangerous to a Servant directly—but in such a rapidly shifting battle, even the slightest inconvenience mattered.
Otherwise, why would Masters often choose to fight alongside their Servants? Magi who provided such support could decisively shift the flow of battle.
Suddenly, as if realizing something, Semiramis's gaze sharpened, peering intently through the barrier into the golden protective field Jeanne had erected.
The violet-black poison fog wasn't as obscuring as the Hydra's mist; through the faintly poisonous haze, Semiramis clearly saw what was happening within Jeanne's golden barrier.
Likewise, those inside could clearly perceive events outside.
And ranged attacks weren't limited to Sisigou's double-barreled shotgun—
Emiya Shirou knelt, bow drawn, countless swords manifesting atop the string.
In the next instant—
Swoosh—! Swoosh—! Swoosh—! Swoosh—!
Just as Semiramis completed her thoughts, countless blades burst forth from the deadly mist.
They shot forward, carrying an unstoppable presence, unaffected by the poison that surrounded them. Like shining stars streaking through the heavens, their speed and radiance were dazzling.
Semiramis's eyes contracted sharply at their terrifying speed, rapidly raising her magecraft defense.
But such a swift assault couldn't possibly be halted by her ordinary shield.
"Damn it—!"
Cursing angrily, Semiramis swiftly expanded the hexagonal barrier before her, blocking the oncoming storm of arrows—blades hurtling at speeds invisible to human eyes.
Sisigou's initial cursed bullets weren't meant to injure Semiramis outright. Everyone knew that attempting to significantly affect a magus of Semiramis's caliber with modern magecraft was next to impossible.
Their sole purpose had been to distract her, forcing her into defensive measures rather than allowing her to use spatial magecraft to evade.
If Semiramis had teleported away, even Shirou's precise archery would have struggled to hit her.
Right now, he didn't possess a homing Noble Phantasm like [Hrunting] to lock onto her movements.
Sisigou's attack was akin to facing an enemy sniper in a game, only to have someone nearby harassing you with harmless water pellets—no real damage, but causing your aim to shake uncontrollably.
That opponent couldn't kill you outright, yet their interference couldn't be ignored. Before facing the sniper, you'd be forced to deal with this nuisance first.
Semiramis found herself in precisely that predicament. The cursed bullets posed no real threat—but she was compelled to block.
And given Semiramis's pride, she would never choose to dodge. She would only confront them head-on.
To her, dodging modern magecraft would be an intolerable humiliation for the proud Queen of Babylon.
Black had exploited precisely this prideful weakness, forcing Semiramis to abandon her spatial evasion magecraft, trapping her into passive defense.
Clink—! Clink—!
Clink—! Clink—!
Countless sword-arrows crashed relentlessly into the layered hexagonal mirror-shield moving constantly around Semiramis, triggering ear-splitting collisions.
Cracks spread rapidly across the mirror's surface.
After training under Chiron, Shirou's accuracy and power had increased tremendously.
Moreover, the bow Shirou wielded now was Chiron's own—although not divinely forged nor even a Noble Phantasm, it vastly exceeded Shirou's earlier bows.
Now, Shirou's attack power had truly reached the level of an Archer-class Servant. Even without invoking a [Broken Phantasm], his raw arrows alone matched Archer-class might.
Normally, Shirou shouldn't have absorbed Chiron's wisdom so readily. Yet perhaps due to Shirou's unique nature—or simply his exceptional affinity with the bow—in an incredibly short time, he had received Chiron's divinely gifted knowledge, experiencing immense improvement.
[Wisdom of Divine Gift]
Rank: A+
Wisdom bestowed by the Greek gods upon the sage. Enables mastery at B to A-rank in virtually all skills (limited to ancient Greek context), except for certain unique personal abilities. With the Master's consent, these skills can even be transferred to other Servants.
Under normal circumstances, Chiron's skill affected only Servants, not humans still residing in the modern world.
This was precisely why, in the original story, Sieg could only learn Chiron's skills after becoming a Servant, not as a mere Master.
Yet Emiya Shirou had transcended this limitation—under Chiron's guidance, his archery improved dramatically within mere moments.