The Battle of Wits That Opened the Curtain

The Battle of Wits That Opened the Curtain

If Caster's Cu Chulainn was an extremely famous legendary Heroic Spirit whose existence even children knew of, then Archer was a truly nameless nobody.

At least, until 2018, even if Archer announced his true name to the entire world, no one would have been able to find his name in the legends and myths of the past.

The reason was simple.

Archer was not a Heroic Spirit from the past, but a Heroic Spirit from the future.

"Originally, the so-called 'Throne of Heroes' has no concept of time."

Whether from the past, present, or future, as long as one possessed the qualifications to become a 'hero,' they would be recorded in the 'Throne' and become a Heroic Spirit.

Since that was the case, it was only natural that no one in this era would recognize Archer.

Therefore, if one had to call Archer by his true name, "Nameless" would actually be more fitting.

An unknown, nameless hero from the future.

That was probably the best way to describe Archer.

"Although, as far as I'm concerned, as long as I have the means to complete the mission, it doesn't matter whether I have a name or not."

With that thought in mind, the Servant of the Archer Class stood against the wind and gazed into the distance.

The location was the deep mountains, which seemed like a giant beast ready to devour people.

The place itself was a temple nestled in the mountains.

Archer stood atop the temple, using his Clairvoyance skill to look toward a place several kilometers away.

There, the expected enemies were hurrying toward him.

There was a girl wearing anachronistic aristocratic clothing who looked somewhat flustered.

There was a sage holding a wooden staff, an irritatingly frivolous smile hanging on his face.

There was a Pseudo-Servant carrying a shield, with an incredible creature perched on her shoulder.

And there was a seemingly frail-looking boy whose eyes constantly flashed with an unignorable brilliance.

The four-person group was charging toward him.

"They came after all?"

Archer's tone was filled with an air of inevitability.

Ever since Berserker had been defeated, Archer had been waiting here.

"Now that the other Servants have been defeated, it was only a matter of time before they came to challenge me."

In that case, rather than launch another attack, it was better to wait here for the enemy to come to him.

In any event, as long as the enemy approached, the one occupying the high ground and able to monitor the surrounding several kilometers—himself—would have the advantage.

For that reason, Archer had even deliberately destroyed the sewers around the deep mountains, preventing Luo Zhen and his group from approaching underground as they had last time.

"This time..."

Red magical energy burst from Archer's hand, forming a black iron bow that he gripped tightly.

The instant Archer took hold of his bow, two Servants among Luo Zhen's group, who were approaching the deep mountains, immediately reacted.

"Hostile reaction detected!"

Mashu immediately tensed and raised her shield.

"As expected, that Archer guy launched the first snipe?"

Caster gave a disdainful-looking laugh. He seemed to understand Archer's style very well, but the hand holding his wooden staff tightened.

"Our opponent is an archer. There's nothing we can do about this."

Olga Marie seemed to have mentally prepared herself to be targeted.

"Then..."

As if bracing himself, Luo Zhen casually pulled Fou down from Mashu's shoulder and tossed him onto Olga Marie.

Immediately afterward, Luo Zhen gazed toward the deep mountains and revealed an amused smile.

"Let's proceed according to plan and neutralize Archer's snipe!"

Luo Zhen's words made everyone around him smile as well.

Then, surging magical energy blossomed all around them.

"What...?"

Archer, who had been preparing to fire, suddenly narrowed his eyes.

Within the range of his Clairvoyance, the movements of Luo Zhen's group, who were approaching him, suddenly changed.

"This is a secret technique! Watch closely!"

Caster shouted this as he raised the wooden staff in his hand. After spinning it once, he brought it heavily down against the ground.

With a clang, a glowing rune appeared on the spot struck by the staff.

They were Rune letters, a mystery originating from the Norse world. They could replace the effects of incantations and Magic Circles; simply carving them was enough to activate Magecraft.

Caster completed the Rune inscription almost without spending any time at all, causing the Magecraft to activate.

The next second, the ground struck by the wooden staff suddenly bulged, and thick tree roots drilled out of it one after another.

As someone who had inherited Rune Magecraft, Cu Chulainn was often called the sage of the forest when he was a magus.

Rune Magecraft came in many varieties. By flexibly using different Rune letters, one could produce diverse and powerful effects, such as granting skills like Magic Resistance and Clairvoyance, or even raising one of their ability parameters to the highest rank. Caster could accomplish all of this, but the techniques could not be used simultaneously. Combined with his personality, Caster instead tended toward aggressive attacks.

Now, Caster displayed his aggressive side, causing incredibly thick roots to drill out of the ground one after another. Like bridges, they continuously extended toward the deep mountains.

Luo Zhen and his group sat at the ends of the roots. As the roots extended, they drew closer to the deep mountains at an astonishing speed.

In the blink of an eye, nearly a kilometer of distance was erased in this manner.

"Don't think I'll let you...!"

Seeing the enemy rapidly approaching by an unexpected method, leaving him almost no chance to kite them, Archer clicked his tongue and aimed the arrow nocked on his bowstring without hesitation.

However, since Luo Zhen had decided to launch his attack in this manner, he naturally would not give Archer a chance to snipe him.

Therefore, even though the sewers were unusable, Luo Zhen had still secretly sent his Familiars over.

Now was the moment for those Familiars to show their worth.

"Boom!"

Just as Archer's arrow was about to shoot through the air, the ground around the temple also burst open.

From underground, gigantic demonic ants drilled out one after another.

"----!"

Archer's expression had only just changed when the demonic ants began to move.

They actually transformed into artillery platforms one after another. Rather than pounce on Archer, they carried huge rocks and hurled them away one by one, using strength comparable to that of High-Level Familiars.

A rain of stones blanketed Archer from all directions.

"You're only playing these useless little tricks!"

Archer leaped into the air. While dodging the stone projectiles closing in on him, he spun his body and kicked fiercely, preparing to send flying a rock aimed at his face.

Archer failed to notice one thing.

On the back of the stone he had kicked, a delicate rune suddenly lit up.

By the time Archer sensed the magical energy, it was already too late.

"Rumble!"

The sound of an explosion rang out.

The rune-inscribed stone burst open like a bomb, transforming into billowing waves of heat that engulfed Archer.

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