"Ooooooooooooooooooooooh!!"
"Red" Rider, Achilles, assailed "Black" Archer, Emiya, with a god-speed spear impossible to even visually track. It was no exaggeration to call it a flash of lightning; even Archer's dynamic visual acuity struggled to capture the spear's movement.
Rider, who boasted the greatest speed among all heroes, excelled not only in his swiftness but also in a spear-fighting style that emphasized speed.
'Speed' itself became 'Power.'
Given his opponent, the match could have been decided the moment they faced each other.
However, the opposing "Black" Archer, despite being an archer, clung fiercely to Rider's spear techniques.
Some time had passed since the battle began.
The balance of power remained unchanged from the start, with Rider maintaining the advantage. Archer could barely manage a counterattack, merely fending off Rider's spear with his twin swords.
But that meant he was being fended off.
The fact that his spear, whose fundamentals were drilled into him by the great sage Chiron and polished through countless battles, was being held at bay by an archer who had entered his range.
"My speed and power are overwhelmingly superior. Why can't I break through?!"
The number of clashing blades surpassed a thousand, the dazzling sparks continuously illuminating the night forest.
Rider was unharmed, while Archer was gradually accumulating damage.
He thought he could win if he continued attacking like this.
But simultaneously, a thought began to sprout: that he might be unable to decide the match, thwarted by Archer's steadfast defense.
To that extent, Archer's defense was solid. More accurately, his defensive technique was extremely skillful.
Rider created distance as if to reset the engagement.
Creating distance against an archer was nothing but a bad move, but even considering the disadvantage, it was about time to reset everything and probe for a new opening.
In just an instant, Rider created about thirty meters of distance and glared at Archer.
"Maybe I'll try one big shot."
Rider spun his spear around and held it in a reverse grip.
Holding and swinging it was not the only way to use a spear.
Rather, in ancient warfare, it served as a primary long-range attack weapon alongside bows and arrows. A weapon for harming enemies and prey, born nearly simultaneously with human civilization.
This was no exception in ancient Greece, where Rider was active; Rider himself had defeated many famed warriors with his proud javelin throws.
He contracted all his muscles and drew back.
The obstructive trees had been wiped away by the two Servants' fierce clash, turning the area into an open plain. Nothing obstructed that throw.
He had a premonition.
After the overwhelming, storm-like speed thrusts, Rider's intention in creating distance was clearly to reset the engagement.
From the spearman's range to the archer's range.
Abandoning the hard-won close range and putting himself at a disadvantage was likely due to his confidence that he could close this distance anytime.
Or, was this distance necessary for a new attack?
Probably the latter.
The magical energy emission was too small for a Noble Phantasm release. It must be a thrown attack based on a skill or a technique honed since his lifetime.
"Tch...!"
But even a mere thrown attack was a different story when it came from "Red" Rider, Achilles. Even if it wasn't a Noble Phantasm, his skill undoubtedly possessed power on par with one.
Archer was certain.
That thrown attack, if he had been summoned in the 'Lancer' class, would undoubtedly become a sure-kill throw, augmented with the mystery of a Noble Phantasm.
Neither sniping with his bow nor shooting projected Noble Phantasms would make it in time. Then, evasion? No. Evading a thrown attack from the fastest hero at this distance was far too reckless.
Then, the more certain method, namely. He had no choice but to prepare the strongest shield among his available armaments.
Rider had already drawn back his spear. Whether he would make it in time was a fifty-fifty gamble. Magical Circuits, full power activation. Draw out magical energy beyond limits, and based on the image in his mind, manifest petals into this world.
Rider drew back his spear, and Archer raised his right hand.
"Go, Star-Treader Speartip—Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē!"
Rider shouted the name of his spear and launched it. Its trajectory drew a gentle parabola. But the spear was god-speed, like a meteor. The tip tore through the atmosphere, reaching Archer's torso in less than a blink, scattering explosive magical energy.
Dust swirled violently, and the earth was torn up. Who could comprehend that this was merely a thrown attack, not even a Noble Phantasm? A supreme skill that pierced the armor of Greece's stellar heroes and shattered skulls. It was a satisfying throw that even Rider was half-convinced of victory.
"Wha...t...?"
Rider's eyes widened, his throat trembling.
As if he had seen something unbelievable, his entire body stiffened as he looked.
Archer was alive——fine.
The spear was blocked——it's a Holy Grail War. These things happen.
But the crimson petals blooming gloriously amidst the magical energy and gravel dust were something that should not be here.
"Rho Aias—The Seven Rings that Cover the Fiery Heavens!"
What blocked the god-speed thrown attack head-on was a gigantic flower large enough to hide Archer's form.
A conceptual armament possessing the concept of being invincible against thrown weapons and projectiles, as it was said to have blocked the mighty Hector's throw during the Trojan War. The hardest defensive Noble Phantasm among Archer's defensive arsenal.
It was the absolute defense, the best possible means to block Rider's overly fast thrown attack.
"You...!" It was Rider whose complexion changed upon seeing it.
Pouring clear rage and killing intent into his gaze, Rider roared. He roared, and vanished.
Rider, having retrieved his spear deflected by the shield with his swift feet, kicked off the ground and closed in on Archer.
Archer readied his twin swords again and launched an Anti-Divine Noble Phantasm to keep Rider in check.
"Why do you have——his shield... Aaaaaaaaaaaah!"
He screamed. He ran.
The defense Archer deployed was indeed the Shield of Ajax. There was no mistaking it. Its original owner, the great Ajax, was a fierce Achaian general considered to have strength second only to Achilles and was Achilles's cousin. Seeing his friend's Noble Phantasm being used, he couldn't remain calm.
He charged through the swarm of swords and assailed Archer.
The clash between Archer and Rider would occur in less than a second.
That was how it should have been.
If only an excessively powerful flash of light, born in a different battlefield than this one, hadn't assailed this very place where Archer and Rider were about to clash.
"Red" Berserker is a thinking weapon.
Although merely a thing that tramples enemies with overwhelming power, it has clear priorities for destruction targets and is a fearsome possessor of tenacity, never stopping until its targeted beings are killed and crushed.
Its body had long since lost human form, becoming a grotesque thing.
Nothing remained to suggest its former humanoid shape. Its form, like a biological failure adorned with various parts reminiscent of spiders, dragons, birds, and lions, evoked the mythical chimera.
However, this monster was not so endearing as to choke and die on lead lodged in its throat.
After all, it possessed an astounding regenerative power, with no knowing when it might die. It wasn't a Noble Phantasm or skill of immortality, but it endured attacks solely with its extremely high 'Endurance' skill, converting part of the damage received into magical energy via its Noble Phantasm 'Crying Warmonger: Howl of the Wounded Beast,' accumulating it within its body. This manifested as extraordinary, abnormal regeneration that healed its wounds, and the excessive magical energy supply from taking damage further transformed its body.
Even for Ruler, this was uncontrollable brutality.
Though she weaved through Berserker's whip-like bending arms, the gravel scattered from the ground those arms pulverized chipped away at her armor.
Astonishingly, even the rocks gouged out by Berserker were stained with his magical energy, becoming projectiles that could wound Servants.
"Ah, damn it, when is this guy going to die?!"
"Red" Saber irritably severed one of Berserker's arms. Immediately after, a lion's jaw sprouted from the severed arm and bared its fangs at Saber.
"Such a pain!" Saber sliced off the lion's head and retreated.
"I, who serve the running dogs of power, cannot be defeated by you." Berserker seemed to smile—or so it appeared.
His face was already half-buried in flesh, making his expression unreadable. Did he not realize his body was transforming?
"This guy, he's only been saying the same stuff since earlier."
"This Berserker's thoughts are fixed on choosing the most difficult path. Conversation is fundamentally impossible."
"In the end, a Berserker is just a Berserker. A rabid beast like you shouldn't appear before me, who should be a king!" She would slash and kill everything standing in her way.
Pumping herself up, Saber charged at Berserker to slash him.
Historically, Berserker was indeed older. But as a heroic spirit, Saber's stature was far superior.
Berserker Spartacus rebelled against ancient Rome but died without accomplishing anything, while Saber Mordred inflicted a fatal wound on King Arthur—there was a significant gap in both their performance as warriors and the great deeds they accomplished.
Of course, Berserker's actions gave great hope to the gladiators of ancient Rome, and that was a great historical achievement. But even so, it paled in comparison to Saber, who ended the glory-adorned Arthurian legend.
Above all, falling behind a mindless mad beast was something her heroic pride would not allow.
That was Saber's sole reason for challenging this monster.
Since Berserker's target was Ruler, she could push everything onto Ruler and escape. But that was not something a king should do. This battle was between Saber and Berserker. She didn't like the idea of Ruler, who appeared later, stealing it.
Ironically, Saber's actions were allowing Berserker's Noble Phantasm to demonstrate its power fully.
In the exchange of fierce slashes, the slow-moving Berserker was covering his body in wounds. And he repaired each wound one after another, causing his body to swell. One would think his movements would become more sluggish with the swelling——but no, his movements rather gained sharpness, gradually increasing his charge speed.
Now, Saber's attacks only served to fatten Berserker. Facing a monster whose heart and brain were no longer vital spots, Saber began to feel a growing sense of crisis. This monster could not be stopped by momentum and power alone.
In that case, she could just kill his Master, but unfortunately, she didn't know who Berserker's Master was.
He had likely had his Master rights forcibly taken by the "Black" faction, so the enemy Master holed up in the Fortress of Millennia was probably the one commanding "Red" Berserker, but reaching that point was difficult.
Berserker, who had abandoned all thought except crushing tyrants, had identified Saber, who called herself a king, and Ruler, the adjudicator of the Great Holy Grail War, as his enemies.
By now, Berserker had no intention of letting anyone but these two enter his sight, nor any intention of letting them escape.
Transformed into a grotesque form by his vicious self-enhancement Noble Phantasm, Berserker no longer had his initial sluggishness. He was burning his accumulated vast magical energy to enhance his physical abilities, possessing speed approaching the agility of Saber and Ruler. On top of that, his monstrous form was troublesome. Having abandoned human form, his shape, like a patchwork of various creature parts, was truly difficult for the two, accustomed to fighting humans, to combat.
"Ugyah!" Saber, who tried to slash Berserker from behind as he attacked Ruler, was repelled and rolled on the ground.
Her 'Instinct' allowed her to avoid a direct hit, but fragments of the shattered ground, contaminated with magical energy, chipped away at her full-body armor like bullets.
What attacked Saber was a tail ending in a blade-like point.
Its shape resembled that of a scorpion. Moreover, the base of the blade tip even had something like a fish eye. As it wriggled as if rolling, capturing Saber, the tail sharply assailed her, trying to impale her.
Its movement was like a snake's.
She caught the blade with her beloved sword and, with the returning stroke, sliced it off. But that too ended in vain. Immediately after being cut, a thicker, more resilient blade grew back.
So, what to do?
Saber pondered while evading Berserker's tail.
Continuing like this was a losing battle.
That Berserker repaired fatal wounds instantly and grew stronger. Mere sword techniques were meaningless against this Berserker.
If small wounds were meaningless, then the only method left was to annihilate his entire body without leaving a single speck of dust.
Ruler glanced towards the aerial fortress.
Originally, Ruler's destination was that aerial fortress overlooking the battlefield, and her involvement in fighting Berserker, who had become a pawn of the "Black" faction, was not anticipated. If this were a "Red" Servant, Ruler might have been able to confidently accuse the "Red" faction of rule-breaking, but Berserker was running wild, determining friend and foe on his own. Berserker had no wish for the Grail and probably no sense of belonging to any faction. Therefore, she couldn't judge either faction based on him.
"Tch..." Berserker's arm passed over Ruler's head as she crouched low. If struck by that log-like, whip-bending arm, Ruler's body might be shattered in one blow.
For now, she had to deal with this formidable enemy somehow.
The situation had, by chance, settled in a form agreeable to the "Red" Master hiding in the aerial fortress.
Berserker was delaying Ruler and targeting her life. Although Ruler had the advantage of privileges against most Servants, it was inconvenient for dealing with this Berserker.
Servants summoned in the 'Berserker' class always carried the risk of running wild. The basic role of Command Spells, to bind Servants, was most expected for 'Berserkers.'
However, on the other hand, Servants with high 'Mad Enhancement' ranks occasionally repelled even the restraint of Command Spells.
It was well known that with A-rank 'Magic Resistance,' one could withstand up to one Command Spell, but resistance to Command Spells due to 'Mad Enhancement' depended on the Servant's 'Mad Enhancement' rank and specs.
Considering that, this Berserker was the worst.
An unmeasurable 'Mad Enhancement' and a transformed, monstrous body. Even in his normal state, suppressing his actions required layered Command Spells, so in his current state, even using three Command Spells couldn't be expected to have an effect.
Ruler had two Command Spells for Berserkers.
He was far from an opponent she could handle with her privileges.
Therefore, contrary to her inner anxiety, Ruler found herself unable to escape this battlefield.
Not only could she not utilize her privileged advantage, but all of Ruler's attacks were used to boost Berserker.
What should I do... Tch!
Just as Ruler gritted her teeth in thought, a massive vortex of magical energy swelled up beside her and Berserker.
The source of the magical wind was "Red" Saber. Having removed her helmet, she held up her ominous evil sword, her hair playing within the midst of a crimson demonic wind.
Saber was preparing to release her Noble Phantasm.
This was the first time Ruler could learn Saber's True Name. Though surprised that the name and gender didn't match, Ruler felt something even more dangerous.
Something was wrong.
That Noble Phantasm could certainly blow Berserker away. Saber's Noble Phantasm was likely an Anti-Army type. Even enlarged, Berserker, less than ten meters tall, would be annihilated without a trace if hit directly.
Common sense suggested this strike would decide the match.
That should be the case, yet for some reason, Ruler felt a contradictory sense of crisis regarding the result of Saber's Noble Phantasm activation and what it would bring.
Saber would surely finish off Berserker. But simultaneously, an unparalleled calamity would befall Saber, Ruler, and all beings on this battlefield. She had that conviction.
"Saber! Using your Noble Phantasm here is... Tch!"
"Move, Ruler! I'll blow you away too!"
"Please listen! If this continues, something terrible will...!"
"There's no other way but to do this now! Stop nagging!"
"Tch..." Ruler bit her lip.
Ruler possessed a sense akin to precognition, and she felt that inflicting more damage on this Berserker was dangerous. Probably, Saber felt the same. Her 'Instinct' skill, though not to Ruler's extent, was sensitive to danger. And yet, Saber was still trying to release her Noble Phantasm. She had weighed the benefits gained from releasing it against the damage suffered and decided to release it.
Therefore, unless Ruler could demonstrate a greater benefit than Saber's choice to release her Noble Phantasm here, she couldn't stop her.
Ruler pretended to catch Berserker's strike with her flag, using the momentum to create a significant distance. The outwitted Berserker, unable to understand this, deepened his smile.
Berserker's top priority was Ruler, who possessed absolute privileges. With Ruler blown away, his attention finally turned to Saber.
By that point, Saber's Noble Phantasm was only seconds away from activation.
The brandished evil sword was wreathed in crimson lightning, releasing a gale that scattered everything around.
"Ooh." Seeing that, Berserker felt not fear——but rather, joy.
Feeling the approaching wall he must overcome with his entire being,
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha————————————Trample me! You dog groveling to power! I shall overcome this evil light!"
Berserker leaped to crush Saber with his massive frame. It was like a boulder launched from a catapult. Kicking aside the wall of atmosphere, Berserker spread his limbs wide, attempting to crush Saber with his gigantic body and overwhelming weight.
An extremely simple tactic.
Increase the surface area and crush with impact.
"Hah... What a big target." Saber scoffed at Berserker.
She understood Berserker's strange Noble Phantasm and abnormal 'Endurance.' That Berserker's tactic was indeed correct. He combined his excessively high defense with a Noble Phantasm that could utilize enemy attacks to increase his own parameters, allowing him to charge forward using his own body as a shield.
But Berserker didn't understand Saber.
In her hand was the supreme holy sword, also called the Sword of the King, and Saber's evil sword twisted by ominous malice. The moment he equated this A+-rank Anti-Army Noble Phantasm with her previous petty slashes, Berserker was finished.
There was only one thing left for Saber to do.
To convert the bursting magical energy into destruction and unleash its True Name.
"Clarent Blood Arthur: Rebellion Against My Beautiful Father!"
A scorching light descended.
Berserker's vision instantly turned into a crimson of despair, and his entire body was shattered by the raging lightning strikes. Flesh burned, bones broke, regeneration couldn't keep up, and Saber's Noble Phantasm strike melted his body away.
This was truly the light of rebellion.
Undoubtedly, it was a demonic power that raised the banner of revolt against the establishment and concentrated all malice and frenzy upon itself.
In its nature, Berserker felt respect for the first time, and precisely therefore, he roared that he must overcome it.
But that too was only a brief resistance.
Berserker's charge held out for merely an instant before the scorching torrent crushed his body to pieces like a mixer, scorched it, and washed it away.
When the eye-searing flash vanished and the veil of night returned, nothing remained.
The crimson heat ray had scorched away everything in its path.
The air was filled with the smell of burning grass and trees. The ground was gouged, blistered by heat, drawing a single line across the grassland. Berserker's massive body was also gone, with only the steam-rising ground visible.
"Did she do it?" Ruler inadvertently murmured.
Saber's Noble Phantasm had tremendous power. It was a strike that would rank quite high even among pure power-type Noble Phantasms. Without a special defensive Noble Phantasm... no, even with one, most Servants would perish if hit directly.
The unease she had been concerned about should be resolved if Berserker was gone.
Thanks to Saber completely defeating Berserker, the calamity was averted.
"Hah-Haa! Serves you right, you big lump!" Saber swung her sword around, raising a cry of victory.
She must have been overjoyed that her proud Noble Phantasm connected. She seemed about to jump for joy.
However, a mass of magical energy suddenly appeared on the scorched, blackened ground cleared by Saber's Noble Phantasm. It was a pulsating heart, releasing a terrifying amount of magical energy with each beat.
"What...!?" Saber's eyes widened, and she readied her sword again. It was far too abnormal to still be alive after having his body blown away by an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, leaving only a heart.
And it was rapidly being covered in flesh.
The exposed heart was buried within, as if protected by muscle and bone; eyeball-like things appeared from within the reddish-black flesh only to be buried again. Tentacle-like arms grew, bones protruded, and all his internal organs were transforming into muscle. Berserker, now a mere mass of muscle without skin, still clung to this world.
"This guy... Tch!" Saber was speechless with rage.
She couldn't forgive an enemy who, despite taking a direct hit from a Noble Phantasm bearing her father's name, clung so ugly to life.
For her, this sword was the one that inflicted a fatal wound on her father; therefore, the mere existence of an enemy this sword couldn't kill became an unforgivable great evil.
She would kill him here, no matter what.
Just as she swore this and stepped forward, Saber's 'Instinct' sounded a full-fledged alarm.
If she stayed here, she would fall into a truly fatal situation.
Her battle instinct was screaming. And so was Ruler.
"Saber!"
At the cry warning of danger, Saber suppressed her own passion. Forcing herself to accept that venting emotions on what was now a lump of flesh was foolish, Saber leaped back.
Meanwhile, the thing that was Berserker swelled. Inside it, an immense, extreme amount of magical energy swirled.
Seeing this, Ruler instantly realized the true nature of the calamity.
"He intends to gather and destroy everything here!?"
Berserker was now a magical energy bomb.
He was about to release the vast magical energy, surpassing even an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm's True Name release, in a single strike.
"Saber, leave this place!"
"What about you!?"
"I can withstand this, so don't worry!"
"Is that so? Then later!" Leaving only those words, Saber turned spiritual and vanished. She too had sensed Berserker's aim. If he was going to self-destruct, Saber had no need to do it herself. And she had no intention of dying such an uncool death by getting caught in it, so she withdrew promptly.
Though taken aback by Saber's casual retreat, Ruler collected herself and raised her flag.
The transformation of Berserker's body had already exceeded tolerable limits.
Within seconds, Berserker's body would collapse, releasing all its contained power in all directions.
Berserker's consciousness was already gone, leaving only the function of a weapon that would rupture and scatter destruction. Stopping it was impossible.
Unlike Saber, who could turn spiritual and leave the battlefield, Ruler could not become spiritual.
Even if she started running at full speed now, she couldn't possibly escape.
And Berserker's strongest strike, colored by rage and joy, shook the battlefield. Instantly becoming the incarnation of raging brutality, Berserker converted even his own body into magical energy and caused a massive explosion.
That strike was a brutality of light and heat reminiscent of a nuclear bomb.
As Ruler had intuited, he intended to blow away every object present in this place from this world. Naturally, the first victim would be Ruler, who was closest.
Against the hammer of rebellion meant to smash everything on the battlefield, Ruler swung her flag fluttering in the wind,
"My God, Luminosité——"
And sang out its True Name in a loud, clear voice.
What symbolized Ruler was her pure white holy flag. Not a sword, not even a weapon, this holy flag had nonetheless encouraged many soldiers and officers, always guarding Ruler who led the vanguard.
"Eternelle is Here!"
The holy flag, released as a Noble Phantasm, was an extremely powerful defensive Noble Phantasm that converted Ruler's extraordinary Magic Resistance into protection against all types of attacks, physical and spiritual alike.
Before the ultimate destruction resembling a falling star, the girl called Ruler was far too small, minuscule, and fleeting.
An existence as light as dust, blown away by a breeze. But that Ruler stood firm, feet planted on the ground, unyielding amidst the overwhelming brutality.
Pouring all her strength into both hands, her face twisted in agony yet never breaking—that figure embodied the way of life of the girl Ruler——Jeanne d'Arc.
Yes, what kind of heroic spirit, what kind of saint, would she be if she couldn't resist brutality of this level?
The final strike into which Berserker threw his everything boasted an attack range surpassing an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, achieving the result of killing most of the homunculi, golems, and Dragon Tooth Warriors on the battlefield and half-destroying the Fortress of Millennia.
Even so, Ruler, exposed to an attack of such power, stood there completely unharmed.
Ruler, who had split the tsunami of light, was stunned by the devastating sight of the battlefield. Having the fact that she too would have been annihilated without a trace had it not been for her holy flag thrust upon her once more, she reconfirmed the greatness of God.