It was as if her heart had wavered. As she smiled, tears streamed down her face, carrying an unspoken sorrow.
But she quickly calmed herself. Her thoughts became a sword, and with one stroke, she severed the ties of emotion. Strands of thick longing scattered into the breeze.
Her past had already been buried within that ancient history, unknown to all and sung by none.
Only when she wielded the Unlimited Blade did she suddenly realize where she had come from.
The ancient white-haired female Heroic Spirit gave a self-mocking smile and sighed. "Master, aren't you planning to interfere?"
"For now, Saber's Master is easy to control. You saved her life. Killing Rider and forming an alliance with Saber would be the best choice."
"No need."
Luo Shu folded his arms and smiled leisurely. "What I love most is watching women fight."
The cold wind whistled, stirring the hem of his moon-white robes.
Here stood a graceful young gentleman in white, smiling at the beauties.
The white-haired female Heroic Spirit's interest was piqued. Raising a brow, she asked, "What if I want to kill Rider?"
"Then kill her. Do as you please."
The young man in the Moon-White Feather Robe chuckled, utterly unconcerned.
He did not have much desire for the Holy Grail. He had only entered the war because of his status as one of the Three Families, and because he wanted to test his magical training.
Since his Servant had no intention of betraying him, what was wrong with letting her act freely?
After all, she had answered his summons. Naturally, she desired victory.
Why stop her?
"My Master truly is an extraordinary mage."
The white-haired female Heroic Spirit smiled, though her gaze remained fixed seriously on the scene below.
Then, as pure blue arcs of light burst from her hands, she projected the B+-rank Noble Phantasm Gan Jiang Mo Ye into her grasp. One blade was black and the other white, their contrast lending them an elegant air.
Crack—
To Luo Shu's surprise, the hilts of Gan Jiang Mo Ye joined together.
As cold mist surged around them, they formed a longbow of black and white, as pure and crystalline as glass.
The White-Haired Lady's gaze was as sharp as an eagle's. With one hand, she drew the bowstring as endless magical energy poured into the bow. An aura of power capable of shaking the heavens spilled forth.
"—Fake II!!"
She softly recited the incantation, mysterious and profound, drawing the eye like a vortex.
From her palm emerged a spiral sword adorned with magnificent patterns.
This was the demonic sword once wielded by Fergus mac Róich, an Irish hero from Celtic Mythology. Its original form was an A+-rank Noble Phantasm, and its owner had been the foster father of Cú Chulainn, another hero of Celtic Mythology.
Archer had modified it into something that could be used as an arrow and projected it into existence.
Cú Chulainn bore the fate of suffering at least one defeat before this sword. In other words, this sword could also be called Cú Chulainn's nemesis.
The instant they saw the description, people all over the world burst into laughter.
"Isn't this specifically meant to counter Brother Dog?"
"Hahaha, Brother Dog really has it rough."
"Cú Chulainn: If you're a man, come fight me fair and square!"
"Archer pulls out Caladbolg II: Where is my son? Come forth and accept death!"
"This white-haired female Heroic Spirit is insane! From the famous Eastern Gan Jiang Mo Ye to a demonic sword from Celtic Mythology... she can project them all? That range is way too broad!"
"I suspect she has a massive armory that can project every Noble Phantasm in the world!"
"Good grief, then who exactly is she?"
"Could she be Gilgamesh, the legendary oldest king, the King of Heroes who possessed all the treasures in the world?"
"Damn, that's very possible!"
"Then doesn't that mean Luo-kun is guaranteed to win?"
"It's in the bag! Totally in the bag!"
The scene continued.
The handsome young man in white also looked somewhat surprised, resting his chin on his hand in thought.
"She can even project a Noble Phantasm like that. She's truly given me quite a few surprises..."
Atop the skyscraper, the White-Haired Lady's expression turned solemn. Her delicate hand set the spiral sword against the bow, instantly turning it into a terrifying arrow of magical energy.
She gently raised her right hand and drew the bow to its fullest extent.
She aimed at the purple-haired beauty several kilometers away, predicting her next movement.
Then, she gently released the bowstring...
A BGM so tense it gave people goosebumps began to play, like the pipa melody of Ambush from Ten Sides, brimming with murderous intent!
People across the world watched with bated breath.
Whoosh!!
The sound of air tearing apart rang out!
Surging magical energy shot forth, its beautiful radiance resembling a burning phoenix!
That magical arrow was faster than a meteor, streaking across the city at the speed of light.
The camera kept pulling back!
Under the flickering neon lights, the bustling traffic became incomparably slow, as though frozen in place.
Yet the arrow in flight surpassed light itself, tearing through the air and piercing everything in its path!
It was utterly breathtaking!
America.
The Pentagon.
"It can travel several kilometers in an instant..."
Watching the attack within the Heavenly Curtain, five-star general MacArthur was stunned.
Even the world's most advanced hypersonic missile, the Hercules II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, could only barely reach twenty-seven thousand kilometers per hour. Yet the Caladbolg II in the footage seemed even faster than Hercules.
The only question was how large its explosion radius would be.
Heroic Spirits truly were terrifying beings...
If that Caladbolg II had not targeted Medusa, but the Pentagon instead...
At the thought of that possibility, MacArthur shuddered.
He was rather glad that this world had no Heroic Spirits. Otherwise, life for America would definitely be difficult.
Britain had King Arthur, Newton, Elizabeth II...
France had Joan of Arc, Napoleon, and de Gaulle of the old Dai family...
Germany had Martin Luther, the Iron Chancellor Bismarck, and that devil with the little mustache...
With America's thin handful of historical pages, how could it compete with those old powers?
However, everything came to an abrupt halt.
Rumble...!!
Above the academy ruins, a massive explosion suddenly erupted, flames shooting into the sky!
The slowly rising mushroom cloud seemed to proclaim that a nuclear explosion had taken place here.
Medusa and the King of Knights, who had still been locked in fierce combat, both stopped. The white-haired female Heroic Spirit atop the skyscraper furrowed her brow in surprise.
She had missed...
Just as the arrow was about to strike Medusa, a feathered arrow shot in from another angle.
Its power was neither too strong nor too weak, yet it happened to detonate Caladbolg II in midair. The rolling heat wave rapidly raised the temperature of the battlefield, but it did not injure any Servants. It was as though someone had secretly warned Rider.
The situation had become chaotic, with multiple forces competing in the shadows.
After all, as the opening battle of the Holy Grail War, they had drawn far too much attention.
In the basement of the Matou Residence, Sincere Brother frowned and gave the order.
"Rider, you can retreat now."
"Mm..."
Within the ruins, the purple-haired lady remained calm and gave a slight nod.
Before leaving, she stared intently at the King of Knights and said calmly, "Saber, there will be a final battle between us, one where we stake our lives."
Then her body gradually faded, transforming into shimmering particles of light before disappearing into the wind.
Where she had stood, Artoria solemnly raised her holy sword and did not rashly pursue Medusa.
The enemy was somewhere out there, taking shots from the shadows.
She had to protect her Master's safety.
The camera gradually shifted.
After the screen darkened and brightened again, it arrived at another towering skyscraper.
On the rooftop, a mysterious figure slowly lowered the bow in her hand.
When she had been very young, she had fired an arrow toward the ideal in her heart.
From that point on, hitting her target had become effortless, almost instinctual. No matter what sort of arrow she held, she could fire a flawless shot with uncanny precision.
Even Heroic Spirits might not be able to match her!
Then she calmly turned and left, her back disappearing from the rooftop.
A gentle breeze swept past, lightly lifting the hem of the girl's white clothing.
It was unmistakably the uniform of Hohzuki Academy...
Confused!
Completely confused!
"Where did this monster come from? How could she actually participate in a battle between Heroic Spirits?"
People around the world felt their teeth ache.
And the Heavenly Curtain had not even revealed her face.
Didn't it know how curious everyone was?!
All kinds of theories emerged, but with so little information, no one could deduce the real answer.
Meanwhile, in the real world.
Within the gardens of Japan's Shinomiya Family, the blonde maid Hayasaka Ai scratched her head in confusion.
"Why does that silhouette seem a little familiar?"
Amid the discussions of people around the world.
The Heavenly Curtain remained colorful, and the story underwent a new development.
Under the moonlight, the beautiful King of Britain spoke with a modern mage girl.
As though fated, the ill fortune connecting the Yukinoshita Family and Artoria continued. The magic circle that had summoned Saber in the Fifth Holy Grail War had been casually carved by Yukino Yukino ten years ago.
And because of that, the summoning process for Saber had been negatively affected.
Before you continue