The Red Faction's camp.
The other Masters, excluding Shishigou Kairi and Kotomine Shirou, had fallen into Kotomine Shirou's trap and were imprisoned somewhere under brainwashing.
The Servants were completely unaware of this fact, following Kotomine Shirou who conveyed orders as the representative. Shakespeare, who roughly deduced the truth, actively cooperated, while Karna, who saw through it with his "Poor Recognition" skill, pretended not to know and followed along for his Master's safety, trying to find the Masters.
And then, the bomb of the Red Faction. Spartacus, who had no reason to obey a mage Master from the start and moved according to his own beliefs regardless of whether his Master was seen or not, was recklessly charging alone to defeat Vlad, the king of the Black Faction.
Kotomine Shirou, to prevent the loss of combat strength and for secrecy, sent Achilles and Atalanta with orders to retrieve Spartacus.
The two, boasting the fastest speed, quickly caught up, but stopping Spartacus, who knew no surrender and only asked to fight together, had reached a level where they would have to risk their lives to kill him. Just as they had no choice but to focus on secrecy for now...
BAM!!!
"Guh!?"
"Big sis!"
A black meteor-like object charged in and struck Atalanta, sending her flying along with it.
"I'm fine, stop the Berserker!"
"I'll come help right away!"
"Forget it! I'm also a proper huntress!"
Atalanta fell to a place quite far away, leaving Achilles and Spartacus behind.
"So... You don't seem to be the Red Saber. A Black Servant, perhaps?"
*Grrr...*
A black, flame-like mist slowly dissipated, revealing the figure.
"What...?"
"How stupid. You should have known from the start. Are those ears and tail just decorations? As a huntress, you don't even possess the senses of the beast you should be hunting."
"Me... myself...?"
Atalanta Alter. She had appeared. Atalanta, facing another herself, was taken aback but immediately judged her as an enemy and drew her bowstring while creating distance.
"Your judgment is quick. But, clumsy."
BAM!!!
"What!?"
Atalanta Alter perfectly understood her own fighting style. Furthermore, Alter herself fought differently from Atalanta, employing a style that mixed more bestial combat with that of a huntress. In other words, she had a more diverse array of tactics than the original.
On the other hand, Atalanta did not know the fighting style of such an Alter. Alter explosively drew out the power of the Calydonian Boar, using agility that surpassed her original self as she charged.
Atalanta Alter swung a hand like a steel claw, slashing Atalanta's back. Atalanta immediately endured the pain and tried a spinning back kick...
Alter did a slight jump, leaping in the direction the kick was coming from to avoid it, then spun in mid-air. Based on the fastest agility of mankind, and the enhanced agility of a Divine Beast, she spun dozens of times in a single second and delivered a spinning back kick of her own.
CRASH!!!!
"Guh-hah!?"
The power was as if she had been hit by a charging giant monster boar. Atalanta was struck precisely in the solar plexus, vomited blood from her mouth, and was sent flying backward. Atalanta, sent flying while breaking several trees, tumbled across the ground, crashed into a rock, and despite the tumble, the tremendous force shattered the rock.
"Cough, cough...!"
"It's a difference in experience. Unlike you, who only played around in Greece, I've lived for years in a place filled with nothing but monsters. The difference in experience is vast."
The experience of living through Greek mythology was the same for both. On top of that, Atalanta Alter had accumulated experience surpassing her lifetime by fighting through numerous Lostbelts, Singularities, and in Chaldea. Unlike in life, where she couldn't even think of fighting against gods while bowing to them, she grew by competing with gods.
It wasn't that her power grew, but her skill matured as experience accumulated. Servants are originally incapable of growth, but Chaldea was a special case where growth was possible through factors like Spiritron Dress, Skill Level-Ups, and Append Skills.
Paradoxically, they are summoned weaker than their original selves, but through strengthening, they surpass their original selves.
"What are you talking about... That appearance, it's the Calydonian pelt, isn't it..."
"Use it if you're going to. Only then will it be an even match."
"What a ridiculous thing to say... If I put on that pelt of a Divine Beast, I'll die."
"Yes, in the end, you die. You become a monster that unleashes explosive power in a short time and hunts even great heroes, but you die. I am an existence from which that weakness has disappeared...!"
BAM!!!
Atalanta Alter's leg muscles creaked as she charged with explosive agility, shattering the ground. She was faster than herself, so Atalanta couldn't react in time. Atalanta blocked the fist Alter threw, but...
*Crack...!*
"Guh...!?"
A strike delivered by a fist with Strength C++ after charging with Agility A+ speed. Combined with the law of inertia, its power was doubled, and Atalanta's arms, with mere Endurance E—the defensive power of a few humans—shattered on the spot.
'What kind of strength...?'
Alter retracted her fist, quickly swung her arm to the side, twisted her body, and launched a kick. Atalanta tried to block with her bow, but it was, of course, insufficient, and she was sent flying.
*Crash!*
"Guh, grr... You, just what are you..."
Atalanta asked Alter, breathing raggedly with her broken arms dangling. Still, she somehow put strength into her hands, not letting go of her bow, and somehow moved her muscles, enduring immense pain as she nocked an arrow to the bowstring...
"A hunting dog."
"A hunting dog...? Are you referring to yourself like that, or are you mocking me...!"
"It's the literal meaning. I am Master's hunting dog, nothing more, nothing less. I don't live for honor like you, nor do I crave the Holy Grail for a dream. Dreams or reality, it doesn't matter. I simply receive orders, move according to them, and exist. That is who I am now."
"... You've lost your mind. If you used that pelt, you'd be no different from a Berserker. You're not sane... You've completely gone mad, as a huntress... Have you forgotten your pride as a hero, as a follower of Lady Artemis!?"
"On the contrary, I live by that pride... I move for love, am I not properly following her? You're the one who doesn't know. You who lost your virginity, abandoned your child, and turned a blind eye, you trash."
"That... is the same for you, isn't it!"
"The difference is that I acknowledge that it was wrong and my own sin and reflect on it, while you are an idiot clinging to a hollow wish."
Alter sneered and scoffed at Atalanta, who flared up and shouted in anger.
"What did you say!? You, being me, how dare you spout such nonsense! What's wrong with a world where children are happy!"
"And our son is not in that world."
"..........."
"For someone who abandoned even their own child to harbor such a wish... There's no comedy like it. This is why they say variety shows aren't funny, my other self. It's utterly nonsensical."
"Shut up..."
"That's what's pitiful about you, me. It's not too late even now, abandon that foolish wish──"
"Shut up...!!!"
*Twang!*
Atalanta fired an arrow with her broken arm, and Alter swung her hand, shattering the arrow. The power was enough to make her arm tingle. Even with a broken arm, the arrow's force was still powerful. Alter frowned, thinking about just cutting the arm off, baring her teeth and growling...
"Atalanta."
"Ah, Masterrr~!!!"
"..... Huh?"
A man's voice was heard, and Alter's fierce expression instantly changed to a bright smile as she ran on all fours toward the sound. Atalanta was dumbfounded...
"Ehehe... Master, Master~"
"Good job. This much is enough."
"Hehehe, I got praised...♡"
"What the...?"
Atalanta was left speechless by the sight before her.
Another version of herself, happy like a pet receiving her Master's praise, wagging her tail. And the sight of her showing a dazed, truly delighted appearance.
She doubted her own eyes. And, simultaneously, convinced that the man before her was her Master, she raised her bow, but...
"Stop. If you go further, you might die. There's a limit to how much I can restrain them, and they all try to kill anyone who threatens me, which is a problem. So, bear with it for now."
"..."
Atalanta was taken aback by the words spoken without any fighting spirit... Then, overwhelmed by the immense killing intent she felt from her surroundings, she momentarily dropped her precious bow. A pressure greater than facing a god. Atalanta couldn't close her mouth and trembled all over.
"Let's leave it at this and go. Atalanta."
"Understood, Master~! Um, what about the collar..."
"No, I said I won't..."
The figure asking to be collared first, like a pet. Atalanta found it hard to accept this reality. Afterwards, he and Alter disappeared into the forest.
"... What... was that...?"
Atalanta faced an unknown fear and felt immense terror.