Chapter 67: The Power of the Stand
Does [Fragarach] have a weakness?
Yes.
Lancer (Cu Chulainn), who is also a figure from Celtic mythology and whose father is Lugh—the God of the Sun and Light, and the original owner of the Noble Phantasm [Fragarach]—knows this very well.
As the most perfect counter-attack Noble Phantasm, [Fragarach] is undoubtedly the strongest when it comes to "trump card vs. trump card" battles. Its "striking later yet arriving first" characteristic allows it to surpass time and causality. Even if the enemy has already unleashed their move, [Fragarach] can play with time, killing the enemy before they can strike. It rewrites the result of the enemy's attack into a reality where the enemy died before they could even move.
But what if it's not a "trump card vs. trump card" battle?
[Fragarach], which exists specifically to counter trump cards, cannot activate its causality-reversing ability if no trump card exists.
However, if Emiya Shirou didn't use a "trump card," could he still manage to take down Bazett without her even noticing?
Impossible.
One must understand that Projection Magecraft and the [Pseudo-The World] projected by Shirou are both considered "trump cards"! Bazett's [Fragarach] can even trigger against the multiple Noble Phantasms of [Gate of Babylon], not just Gilgamesh's ultimate trump card, [Enuma Elish].
The application range of [Fragarach] is so flexible that even in a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, if the opponent's intent to throw a gesture is judged as a "trump card" (the move to decide the match), [Fragarach] will trigger its ability.
Indeed, its judgment criteria are that versatile.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be called the most perfect counter-attack Noble Phantasm.
Combined with Bazett's own combat prowess—capable of trading blows with Servants, and not just average ones, but the likes of Magni, the son of Thor (a god-class Servant with the strength to inherit Mjölnir)—Bazett is essentially an invincible "mechanics-boss" in this Holy Grail War.
Therefore...
When the gears of time were once again jammed by [Pseudo-The World], and the time of the entire universe was dominated by its power, [Fragarach], which also transcends time and causality, was undoubtedly...
...frozen in place along with its owner, Bazett!?
Is that right?
"Exactly. This is the weakness of [Fragarach]."
The perfect counter-attack Noble Phantasm? Servant-level martial arts? When all things are halted under the majestic power of time, do these things still hold meaning?
Even as Emiya Shirou walked up to Bazett and reached out to grab and take away the floating [Fragarach] beside her, neither the Noble Phantasm nor Bazett could make any reaction.
"A causality-reversing Noble Phantasm ensures that even if the user is killed, as long as the counter-attack 'Effect' is determined, the 'Cause' will complete the process itself. So the true method to counter [Fragarach] isn't to avoid using trump cards, but rather Lancer's [Gáe Bolg]."
In Shirou's past-life memories, the duel between Bazett and Lancer resulted in both using their Noble Phantasms. Both were killed. "Striking later to arrive first" vs. "The effect precedes the cause." When both can manipulate time, it becomes a scenario where neither can stop the other, and both can kill the other.
"But I won't project [Gáe Bolg], even though I can. Because the true weakness of [Fragarach] isn't just that it can't change other causality-based abilities. It's..."
—One second has passed.
He disarmed Bazett. Then, just as he had taken her down before, he physically relocated Bazett's body once again, making her lie back down on the floor.
"Just like Lancer never used [Gáe Bolg] once against Archer (EMIYA). It's not that he didn't want to. It's that Archer precisely stayed outside Lancer's range every single time, preventing him from effectively using the Noble Phantasm."
Information-gatherer Archer is truly terrifying. Although, Shirou with his past-life memories is no slouch either. Rather, it's because his memories recorded how Archer dealt with Lancer's causality Noble Phantasm that Shirou could use a similar method to prevent Bazett's [Fragarach] from ever activating!
"Reversing causality... but if the 'Effect' cannot even be determined, how can you reverse the 'Cause'?"
"Unable to see my Stand means you cannot determine if I am using a 'trump card,' nor when I am using it. In that case, the 'perfect counter-attack Noble Phantasm' is nothing more than an ordinary rock."
Shirou wasn't talking nonsense. There was a precedent. In Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, a Gilgamesh Class Card with very little of Gilgamesh's consciousness cracked [Fragarach] using this exact method. By not allowing Bazett to see the activation of [Gate of Babylon], and only showing the multiple Noble Phantasms launched from it, Bazett could only target those individual weapons, not the Gate itself. Since [Fragarach]'s effective range is 1 to 50, and Bazett only has three charges, she couldn't possibly clear every weapon thrown at her.
"But I'll explain that weakness to you later. For now..."
—Two seconds have passed.
"Time begins to flow again."
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