Soon, facing Saber, Archer lost.
Then, facing Rider, Archer also lost.
As an Archer, although Archer excelled in close combat using dual swords, how could he compete in martial arts against a superior Saber, or a Rider who could control him with her [Mystic Eyes of Petrification]?
After these two battles, Archer was slightly injured. Saber and Rider held back, only doing their best to force out his moves.
"Shirou Emiya, how much did you see? Have you failed their good intentions?"
In the original work, Shirou Emiya had only watched Archer fight a few times, yet this was enough to make his body and soul tremble, creating a kind of resonance.
At this moment, Shirou Emiya also felt his blood boil with equal intensity, especially since he already knew that Archer was his future self.
"So it's not about how many weapons you have in reserve. It's that you crafted those dual swords yourself, right?"
After being adopted by Kiritsugu Emiya, Kiritsugu had not taught Shirou much about magecraft for various reasons, and he had kept him completely in the dark about the affairs of the magecraft world.
This resulted in Shirou Emiya still only being proficient in what he believed to be [Reinforcement Magecraft], consisting of the four steps: analyzing the concept of creation, imagining the basic structure, replicating the composition of the material, and imitating the manufacturing technique.
With these four steps, he had repaired a large number of household appliances and even succeeded in reinforcing ordinary wooden swords to the hardness of steel pipes.
When he thought about how Archer had crafted the dual swords, that he was his future self, and that he was proficient in magecraft, Shirou Emiya naturally thought of the truth behind Archer's dual swords.
That was a more advanced version of his [Reinforcement Magecraft], it was...
"Archer, what is this technique called?"
"Projection Magecraft."
Archer did not hide it, and he was pleased to see Shirou Emiya discover it now. He stood on the battlefield that had been cleared outside the castle, waiting for the challenger to step onto the field.
After a few seconds, Shirou Emiya stepped forward, already attempting to replicate the twin blades in Archer's hands.
For some reason, he just felt he could do it.
"Emiya, the reason most Noble Phantasms are Noble Phantasms is because they have accumulated time and received the recognition of the World Will."
Shirou Emiya was truly not foolish; just with Guinevere's single reminder, he knew exactly where the key to successfully replicating the twin blades lay.
Over the years, Shirou Emiya had already accumulated the maximum experience in [Reinforcement Magecraft], and now he just needed to take two more steps based on this.
"Empathize with the growth experience, and recreate the accumulated years."
Muttering to himself, Shirou Emiya's eyes stared fixedly at the twin blades that Archer did not hide. The next second, the Yin-Yang Twin Blades with the same appearance as the ones in Archer's hands actually appeared in his hands.
However, although this initial projection was successful, it was still only an empty shell, and there was still a relative distance from the complete precision of Archer.
But this was also enough for Archer to open the second act for him.
"I am the bone of my sword..."
"Steel is my body, and fire is my blood..."
"I have created over a thousand blades..."
"Unknown to Death,"
"Nor known to Life."
"Have withstood pain to create many weapons..."
"Yet, those hands will never hold anything..."
"So as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works."
The incantation was recited, the Reality Marble unfolded, and the world's appearance became the image in Archer's mind.
It was the Sand Dunes of Swords from Guinevere's memory, with countless massive gears of various sizes churning in the twilight sky.
At the edge of the dunes, Archer raised his right hand high, and dozens of Projected Noble Phantasms flew about according to his will.
Reality Marble: Unlimited Blade Works. This was Archer's trump card Noble Phantasm. When this Noble Phantasm was activated, Archer, who was within the Bounded Field, had an endless supply of sword-type Noble Phantasms to use, making it a relatively inferior version of the [Gate of Babylon].
"Hmph, a mere fake. It truly offends this King's eyes. Guinevere, is this the Noble Phantasm you placed your high hopes on? You should know that before this King's [Sword of Rupture], all Reality Marbles are meaningless."
"Yes, yes, yes, you can completely continue thinking like that, but it's not our turn here yet."
"Tch."
Within [Unlimited Blade Works], the King of Heroes soon stood at the highest point near everyone, watching as Shirou Emiya, his face resolute, approached Archer step by step.
"Tell me, do you still insist on becoming this world's Hero of justice?"
Being here, Archer's feelings and his final act were instantly reflected in Shirou Emiya's eyes.
But no matter what he saw or understood, Shirou Emiya's answer remained unchanged.
"I will first become Sakura's personal Hero of justice."
"I just..."
On the other side of the Sand Dunes, Archer wanted to say "I just knew it," but his habitual words came out only halfway.
Then, he burst into laughter, one hand on his forehead and the other clutching his stomach.
"What a joke. So you've already taken a different path from me. And here I was, not wanting you to step into the same Reality Marble as me."
In an instant, Archer felt he had been entirely presumptuous. The direction Shirou Emiya was heading no longer needed him to turn it around.
So, the trial ends here? No, he would use an even harsher trial to force Shirou Emiya to learn more from his final moments.
As the laughter subsided, Shirou Emiya had already walked half the way, and the Projected Noble Phantasms floating in the sky fell at this moment.
Noble Phantasms rained down. Fortunately, as Shirou Emiya projected them, he also empathized with the combat experience of the Noble Phantasms' original wielder.
This was a Sword Dance nearly identical to Archer's, undoubtedly his sword techniques.
The Yin-Yang Twin Blades were named [Kanshou and Bakuya], but they were not projections of the famous swords from Shenzhou. Instead, they were mere replicas Archer had imagined based on legend, making them Noble Phantasms that truly belonged only to "Shirou Emiya."
That was why Shirou Emiya now empathized with Archer, rather than the original wielders of Kanshou and Bakuya from China.
But as Guinevere understood, Shirou Emiya's projections were still quite inferior. Or rather, the [Kanshou and Bakuya] Archer projected were fragile consumables.
Amidst the continuous Sword Dance, the twin blades in Shirou Emiya's hands shattered and were re-projected over and over, until he was covered in wounds and temporarily unable to stand.
Yet, as a considerable number of Masters and Servants present knew, Saber's scabbard was still inside Shirou Emiya's body. Not to mention Saber was nearby, allowing the scabbard's healing ability to be fully unleashed.
"Assassin, is this King Arthur's scabbard?"
Rin was the one asking, because an injury that would leave a normal person bedridden for at least three months had healed completely on Shirou Emiya within thirty seconds, and he once again advanced toward Archer.
He didn't ask what the trial was, nor did Archer say. But the two had already formed a silent understanding.
Archer shattered Shirou Emiya time and again, and Shirou Emiya rose again and again with the Scabbard's support, becoming stronger each time.
This kind of cycle continued until Archer spoke to Rin, and Rin used her remaining two Command Spells without hesitation.
Sustaining a Reality Marble and maintaining a battle of certain intensity undoubtedly drained Mana.
And perhaps Guinevere's words had actually been directed at the King of Heroes, or perhaps Shirou Emiya's growth had drawn his attention.
Until the Mana replenished by the two Command Spells was also exhausted, and Shirou Emiya successfully walked in front of Archer, he had been quietly watching the entire process.
Leaving only...
"Guinevere, tomorrow night in the Great Cavern, let this battle end."
In Guinevere's plan, Archer was already meant to die. That meant the minimum requirement for the Holy Grail's manifestation, the souls of four Servants, was naturally just one short.
The war would also naturally end tomorrow night.