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North Snowfield. The large ravine.Tine Chelk poked her face out from the back of Vimana, a flying Noble Phantasm Gilgamesh had drawn from his treasury. The scene that had taken place was burned into her eyes.Gilgamesh had squared off with the mystery Archer. A mysterious female Servant had interrupted their battle. Gilgamesh had looked obviously displeased at the interruption, but events had moved on before the intruder had a chance to respond.That instant, the mysterious Archer, who one blow from the female Heroic Spirit had buried under a mountain of rubble, had sent that rubble flying like a volcanic eruption.Numerous giant boulders had were flung so high into the air that Tine had to crane her neck to see them. Then several of the stones suddenly shattered, and arrows shrouded in vast quantities of magical energy appeared from among the fragments. The mysterious Archer had flown up with the rubble, and loosed countless arrows from behind the soaring rocks.The rain of arrows, each one accompanied by its own tornado, sped down at Gilgamesh and the female Heroic Spirit, pulling the shards of the shattered boulders into the swirling vacuums as they came.An instant later, Gilgamesh launched weapons from his Gate of Babylon, while the female Heroic Spirit nocked multiple arrows to the bow that appeared in her hands, and fired them all at the same time. The weapons and arrows, fired at speeds too fast for Tine's eyes to follow, were warding off the violent whirlwinds one after another.Based on the fact that she had appeared on horseback, she was most likely Rider. Based on her skill with a bow, however, she could just as easily be Archer. But that would mean that three different Archers had manifested in the city., Tine thought. That would be like an archer competing with the other classes in swordsmanship.The King of Heroes had swords like Ea and Merodach despite being Archer, but, leaving out their fearsome power, he would never attempt to match the Saber class head-on in pure swordsmanship. That, at least, was what Tine thought then.The scene playing out before her eyes, however, defied her common sense."..."The female Heroic Spirit held out her right hand beside herself, and a horse appeared there. She then lightly mounted it, and vigorously road it off up the ravine.The cloth wrapped around her arm was still overflowing with concentrated divinity. She circulated the potent magical energy into the horse through its bridle. Horse and rider, moving as a single organism, rapidly threaded their way through the rain of gales. Massive chunks of rubble had begun to fall back to earth. She began to gallop lightly over them, eventually riding across even the boulders still in mid air.Witnessing the female Heroic Spirit traveling backwards up the waterfall of rubble, Tine was sure.That would mean that a hero who naturally possessed the qualities of an archer had taken the form of Rider in this War. It might be reasonable to suppose that the force of her bow had been enhanced by divine aura flowing from the cloth wrapped around her arm.As she watched, the female Heroic Spirit climbed high into the sky, and at last arrived at the peak of the falling rubble. Then, pinpointing the figure of the mystery Archer below her, she drew her bow taut atop her steed.The mystery Archer noticed her presence, and turned to look at her through the cloth that covered his head."..."The horsewoman was facing him, the sun at her back, and drawing her bow coated in concentrated divinity."...I see.""Archerrr!"Baring her powerful animosity, the woman put her whole being into the shout."...So it's you,," the Archer muttered.He readied his own bow, not even bothering to evade, and made concentrated divinity well up from the cloth around his own arm. Then he intercepted the five arrows the horsewoman had fired with as many arrows of his own. The arrowheads collided without so much as an inch of deviation. The magical energy they had been imbued with clashed, rebounded, and assailed the surroundings as a great wind.While blocking the wind, and the pebbles it carried, with her own magecraft, Tine watched for the archer's next movement.But it was the horsewoman who moved first. She was refining a divine aura, even more potent than before, behind the archer's back. She had leapt off her steed as she fired, and, using it as a decoy, had gotten behind her enemy."...Impudent," the archer muttered, and started to turn. Before he had the chance, however, an arrow struck his back, just where his heart was, at the speed of sound.And yet, for some reason, no sooner had the arrowhead struck the man's body — struck the cloth draped over his head — than it splintered, scattering to the winds without eating into his flesh."I knew it..." The rider he had called "queen" groaned at the sight. More than surprise, the groan seemed to imply the confirmation of her conjecture."...I see," Gilgamesh muttered. He had temporarily re-boarded Vimana, and been surveying events from the ground."Has Your Majesty learned something?" Tine timidly inquired."How that mere bowman was able to defend against all my Noble Phantasms," the King of Heroes replied amusedly, "as well as why he failed to defend against a blow of that mere horsewoman's fist.""There is a reason, then...?""A trifle. His armor is special, that's all.""His... armor?" Tine asked, turning to look at the archer, who had returned to earth.The archer was wearing almost nothing that could be called armor. The only things covering his upper body were the strange, patterned cloth draped over his head, and other patterned cloth wrapped around his arm."It is most likely the hide of some species of demonic or divine beast. It can have been no small task to work it into that form, but it was probably originally something like an Ugallu."Gilgamesh gave the name of a Babylonian monster as an example, but that was not enough to satisfy Tine."You mean that this hide repelled all of Your Majesty's tremendous blows?" She pressed."Numbers do not enter into it. Divine or demonic beasts sometimes reject human civilization itself in that way. A moment ago, I hit him with anything and everything — not only my first-class armaments, but even the Noble Phantasms of lower orders that I would ordinarily not even bother firing. I do not believe he repelled them all with skill alone. If he did so with his body, or some form of magical energy, however, it would fail to explain the fact that the hide is completely unharmed."At that point, the King of Heroes narrowed his eyes, and tightened his grip on Merodach, the sword of selection."Occasionally a creature of that sort appears — a singularity that rejects human civilization itself. At the very least, no tool created by humans will pierce that skin."The set of Gilgamesh's lips softened slightly."What is it, Your Majesty?""Oh, just that if he skinned the beast himself, I have high hopes for him."Seeing the wry smile on the King of Heroes' face, Tine realized what those words meant. This Heroic Spirit — the epitome of strength — hoped that the archer standing before him possessed strength to rival his own. Surely he would have condemned an ordinary Heroic Spirit who relied on the power of a Noble Phantasm to swat aside his treasures as irreverent.Tine was reconfirmed in the belief that the bowman under her gaze was a fearsome enemy. He was, after all, sufficient to give this great and proud king "high hopes.""Even without his armor, sweeping my Noble Phantasms aside with his bow was a feat of consummate skill. It was worthy of praise, although I would never be so common.""But what are those Noble Phantasms wrapped around both of their arms...?""Most likely some sort of legacy a god forced on humans. Observe; they are the same item, but each of them uses it in an entirely different manner.""?"Tine did as the King of Heroes bid her, casting a spell for sensing magical energy on her eyes, and staring closely at the battle.There was indeed a difference. The horsewoman was circulating the high-density magical energy — worth of the name divinity — throughout her body. The bowman, however, only applied it to his weapons; he never accepted the power into himself."Why...? If he channeled that divine aura into a body with the qualities his has, he could probably overwhelm his opponent."The King of Heroes grunted, and pondered Tine's words. Then a shade of joy entered his expression, as if he had discovered a curious toy."I merely find the gods I know disagreeable... but it seems that fellow despises the gods he believed in so deeply that he wants to kill them.""He hates... his gods?""Comical, is it not? I'm sure it was those same gods who created that sturdy body of his. Imagine, maintaining such force of will while despising his very existence. The fool shows promise."Gilgamesh's words had not reached the horsewoman, but as she loosed arrow after arrow at the archer, she shouted:"Why? Why do you not take my father's power — the power of the war belt — into yourself? Are you looking down on me!? Mocking me!?""The power of a god is not for housing in one's own body," the bowman answered solemnly, parrying her shots, each of which was imbued with the power to destroy armies, with the bow in his hand."...What?"When she heard that, the horsewoman finally noticed theflowing deep into her opponent's body. A power like scorched poison, utterly unlike that of a god, filled the bowman. He was using that power to control the energy that radiated from the "war belt" by force, as if it was his familiar.Readying his bow, imbued with the mingled powers of a god and, the archer uttered words like a curse, imbued with mingled rage and scorn, from behind his cloth."It should be forced to submit, trampled underfoot... and ruled by the might of man."The same time. The police station."Report for you, sir. Confirming multiple responses thought to be Heroic Spirits in the northern ravine. One of them is thought to be Archer — Gilgamesh."Having received the secret report, the chief of police heaved a large sigh. Then he turned his gaze on the girl mastermind sitting on his sofa and eating a cake she had produced seemingly from nowhere."...You're going to explain this, Francesca.""Explain what? I'm pretty sure I explained the summoning of the true Heroic Spirits before we even started.""What I want to know is who summoned what."Francesca looked away from the chief, who glared quietly at her, a finger on her chin."What? You want to know that, in a Holy Grail War? Nope. I know that Heroic Spirit's identity, and its Master's information, so I could tell you, but, on the other hand, it doesn't seem like Faldeus or his bosses trust you that much. Whatever shall I do?""Don't play dumb. Between this and the incident last night at the opera house, it's doubtful whether the participating mages have any idea of secrecy. Openly attacking a casino hotel in the middle of the day gets the townspeople involved. The Dead Apostle hasn't shown himself yet, but I've gotten reports of people injured by broken glass!"The chief's tone became slightly rougher as he spoke. Francesca turned to him with a gloomy smile."Oh? I thought we were prepared to involve civilians the moment we decided on this city as the stage for the Grail War.""Not in such a visible form. We summoned that Caster in order to win reliably while still keeping damage to a minimum. If any Master is willing to involve the people of this city for no real reason, I believe they should be eliminated immediately.""You really are uptight. Well, it's not like I'm out to slaughter the townspeople either, so I'll give you a hint," Francesca giggled. "You know God? I don't mean the one the kids at the Holy Church worship; I mean gods from a different mythology.""...?""You see, back when this planet was still overflowing with magical energy — what they call the age of the gods — all sorts of 'concepts' and 'foreign bodies' had relations with humans. They had intelligence, but in the end they were different creatures."Francesca stared into the distance as she spoke, narrowing her eyes, as if at a fond memory."When that happened, as you might expect, there were some mix-ups. Lots of comedies and tragedies came out of them. Well, that's also true when it's just between humans, but... Anyway, when your partner's basically a mass of energy, the mix-ups and misunderstandings are on a whole different level! So, the laughter and the sadness both get scaled up, you see?""...What are you trying to say?""Of course, hate boils up to match, too."Then, turning her attention to the swirls of magical energy she could sense from the direction of the ravine, she ecstatically recalled what she had seen the previous evening."It's true that his class is Archer, but his essence has totally changed. I guess it'd make sense to say he's about half Avenger now.""...'Avenger'?"The chief had heard from Faldeus that the Einzberns had summoned a Heroic Spirit of that special class in the third Holy Grail War. Apparently it had not been very strong, for a Heroic Spirit, and had been swiftly eliminated. He remembered, however, that Faldeus — who had read the data an actual participant had left in his own puppet — had told him, with a grave expression:If an entity with the same nature as that Heroic Spirit had appeared, surely that made it unbelievably dangerous?The chief scowled. Francesca shrugged her shoulders, and told him about the bowman — Avenger. Told him cheerfully, delightedly, as if she cherished the very vengeful grudge of that Heroic Spirit."Although, that Heroic Spirit's grudge isn't against humanity... it's against the old, old gods who've already gone and disappeared or rotted away or hidden themselves somewhere these days."The large ravine.The bowman and horsewoman with the same Noble Phantasm continued their battle, mixing long and close range attacks. The horsewoman had produced a spear and bow from the magical energy with a pronounced tint of divinity that was native to her frame. She made skillful use of both in conjuction with her trusty steed as she kept up her assault on the bowman.Tine wondered as she watch the combat.It displayed movements like those of a phastasmal beast, and inconceivable in an ordinary horse, as the horsewoman attempted to drive the bowman further into a corner. But then, as if it had sensed something, the horse stopped, and reared up on its hind legs. As it did so, countless weapons embedded themselves in the ground between her and the bowman."I thought I told you not to interfere!"The horsewoman glared at the man who had fired them."Fool," that man — the King of Heroes — spat back. "I have to no ear to lend a woman so ill-mannered as to not dismount in the presence of a king."He stood in Vimana's prow, gazing calmly down. The space behind him glittered with the points of the innumerable Noble Phantasms that slept in his treasury.The horsewoman temporarily distanced herself from the two archers, and stared suspiciously at the man aboard Vimana."A king? You?""Ignorant as well as impudent. You may be called a queen, but I suppose you are one of thieves who squabbled over bits of my garden in my absence. Sickening."There was no sarcasm; his frigid words were charged with unmistakable contempt."You are not worthy of existing in the same place as the true king — myself. Be gone."With the air of a man sweeping a pebble from the roadside with his foot, the King of Heroes launched a swarm of Noble Phantasms from his Gate of Babylon."...!"Instinct must have warned the horsewoman that taking a direct hit from them would be unwise. Skillfully handling her steed, she weaved her way through the rain of Noble Phantasms.Then the cloth-covered bowman loosed a pointed shaft, his aim fixed on the horse."!"The horse dodged the arrow by a hair's breadth, but lost its balance. The second wave from the Gate of Babylon was bearing down on horse and rider. Instantly, even more powerful magical energy welled up from the horsewoman. She rolled together the magical energy within herself, thick with divinity, and the pure magical energy welling from the cloth — which could be called divinity itself — and channeled it into the spear in her hand. The horsewoman hurled her spear at the King of Heroes, endeavoring to repel the countless Noble Phantasms bearing down on her with brute force.The spear, cloaked in divine aura, drove through the second shower of Noble Phantasms, hurtling toward Gilgamesh's heart. The King of Heroes, however, did not move a step. He deployed a number of shield Noble Phantasms from his Gate of Babylon. The spear closing in on him drove through several of them before coming to a halt."It's been bugging me for a little while now — what's with that ridiculous number of Noble Phantasms?"The horsewoman sounded exasperated. Gilgamesh ignored her, and pronounced with an air of indifference:"Coming against be with the power of a god, of all things... Your insolence knows no bounds, woman."Then, surveying the horsewoman, he grinned. It seemed his interest had been slightly piqued."You may not have come through unscathed, but I see you did manage to take several high-ranking Noble Phantasms."The horsewoman was losing a not inconsiderable quantity of blood from wounds on her shoulders and sides. Several of the Noble Phantasm she had not been able to completely parry must have grazed her. Even so, she comported herself as a warrior astride her mount.Seeing that, the King of Heroes gave a nod, and considered."It appears the blood of a god I do not know runs thick in your veins. I had thought my pleasure spoiled, but with both of you as my opponents, this should at least serve as a warm-up for fulfilling my agreement with my friend."The King of Heroes still made a show of complacency, but there was no carelessness or conceit in his eyes."You are touchstones. You may not fall without my consent."To the King of Heroes, a serious warm-up meant testing everything he had prepared against the battle with his friend, including wiles he would never normally employ."...If you insist on continuing to get in my way, I'll eliminate you first, Golden King."At that point, the King of Heroes gave a scornful laugh."In your way, am I? Are you certain you did not mean your salvation, girl who calls herself queen?""What...?"Gilgamesh glanced at the bowman standing imposingly before a heap of rubble as he answered the dubious rider."If you cannot even realize when you are being toyed with, how do you intend to hunt that man?""...You say I'm being toyed with?""As Heroic Spirits, you and he belong to different orders. You cannot be so cheap as to fail to realize that."Even Tine, observing the Heroic Spirits from the shadow of Vimana, was able to grasp the King of Heroes' words.Masters in the Holy Grail War were granted the simple clairvoyant ability to know their opponents' general strengths and weaknesses, divided into status, strength, agility, and so on. The way this information appeared to each Master varied depending on their sensibilities. Tine visualized it as the difference in the speeds of the currents of six rivers flowing from a mountain.As far as she could see, all the rivers ran swiftly for the King of Heroes and the cloth-shrouded bowman. Compared to them, the horsewoman's flowed at a gentle pace. The river governing luck, in particular, stood out as slow in its course. Even in a simple comparison of basic abilities, she seemed to be at a slight disadvantage. It appeared that she was raising her natural power several ranks by housing the divine aura of her Noble Phantasm in her own body. Against an opponent who possessed the same Noble Phantasm, however, it would not be sufficient to give her an advantage. There might possibly be a difference between housing the power of a god in one's own body and using it as a tool, but Tine was unable to conjecture what effect that difference might have.While Tine pondered, the horsewoman's expression stiffened, and she shot a piercing glare at the bowman."I know he outclasses me..."For just an instant, the tone of her voice matched her youthful appearance. The next, she launched into a bold declaration, bearing her unadulterated animosity."After all,!""What?"For a moment, Tine froze, not comprehending the rider's behavior. She knew what the words meant, but she could not understand the point of shouting something that would give others a hint to the horsewoman's true name. She was acquainted with the bowman, and against the King of Heroes, concealing her true name likely meant little. Still, it was impossible to know where a familiar might be watching. Could she afford to reveal a clue to her true name under those conditions?Perhaps the horsewoman was more impulsive than Tine had imagined. The thought turned Tine's mind to the true names of the enemy Heroic Spirits.Inside Tine, who had studied a wide range of myths and epics in preparation for the Grail War, a number of puzzle pieces fell into place, and formed the figures of two heroes.She did not, however, accept that answer easily. The horsewoman was one thing, but the impression she got from the bowman was just too far removed from the hero she had pictured.Then, as if to prove it, the horsewoman shouted:"But my end is of no importance!"She stared at the bowman, and then at Tine.Tine stiffened under her unexpected gaze. The horsewoman, however, made no move to attack her, and returned her glare to the bowman."Answer me!The archer's response, in contrast, was dispassionate."It is only natural to target a Master who carelessly shows herself alongside her Servant. Though a child, she is a mage who has joined battle with the resolve to crush her enemies. I have no cause to make allowances for her. Of all people, you, queen, whose origin is, ask me this?""Quiet! Shut your mouth and wipe it off your face! I told you to answer, but I don't want to hear commonplace arguments that sound like they come from the mouth of a stranger!" The horsewoman bellowed irrationally. Re-materializing her spear, she pointed it at the bowman, and continued her questioning."You were the one who bent every accepted rule of the battlefield into whatever shape you desired with your strength and cunning! That's why I believed that you... that you at least were a man who would never do such a thing!"Her attention was now completely focused on the bowman. From Tine's perspective, it seemed like the perfect opening. However..."My king...""Leave them be. Watching two clowns slander each other is a form of entertainment."Despite what the King of Heroes said, there was no disorder or inattention in the magical energy that cloaked him. Tine could, however, sense something like a curiosity to know more of his opponent's natures. The bowman, at least, must have considerable ability, to arouse the interest of her haughty king. It was the horsewoman, however, who was on Tine's mind.Tine had offered up her life for the sake of her people. From the time she had determined to summon the King of Heroes and eliminate the mages, she had been prepared to have the tables turned on her and be killed instead. From her perspective, the bowman's argument was sound.Does she not even view me as an enemy...?Indifferent to the girl's confusion, the horsewoman shouted again from atop her horse."I have heard that you were merciless in battle; that you even pillaged the streets of enemy towns. I'm sure you used cowardly sneak attacks, too, if it served your goals. But that would not shake the fame of a hero if it was done for the sake of his ambition."The mounted girl raised her voice still higher, her manner more mature than her appearance."But, whatever the circumstances — even if you faced a cursed child who would bring disaster to the world — I was sure you never gleefully aimed your bow at a child! You would be the last person to forgive that!""...""Where did you abandon the name that was the glory of the gods, that echoed in awed and reverent song throughout our native land, to the ends of the fertile plain of the Thermodon:—"Abandoning herself to momentum and rage, the horsewoman made to shout her enemy's name, not caring that doing so would reveal her own, when..."Silence."One word from the bowman froze the air around them.At the same time, a shadow — the same reddish-brown color that stained the man's body — welled up, and wriggled like a living thing. It was hate; it was fear; it was scorn; it was regret; it was envy; it was pity; it was rage; it was resignation; it was malice; it was mortification; it was despair; and therefore it was empty.From the depths of that shadow, like a range of emotions distilled to its absolute limit, came a voice that seemed to place a curse on all who heard it.Even the bold horsewoman looked daunted for a moment, and Tine thought her own heart might stop. Only the King of Heroes remained calm. His lips actually curled in a faint smile, like a critic viewing comedy."The hero that name belonged to no longer exists," the bowman continued, ignoring all three reactions. "No, 'he' is no longer even a hero. He was a fool who ingratiated himself to pleasure-besotted tyrants, and paid for it by burning off the robe of earth — his human soul — in flames and thunderbolts. On his deathbed he broke his oath, and chose pleasure over pain!""Who are you? What do you want...?" The queen asked, cold sweat running down her cheeks. She was convinced that the man was not the great hero she knew."I am but a human being. I reject the gods of Olympus — your father Ares included — and I will trample and defile them. I am simply an avenger, and I live for nothing else."Yes, my flesh and blood, my very soul, is the shadow of a fool who fell so low that he became a god."The police station.Francesca twisted with excitement, remembering the "Heroic Spirit" Bazdilot had summoned, which she had viewed through her crystal ball early that morning with his permission."Aah! My guts are about to boil just thinking about it! That sense of living only to defile and blaspheme the gods! I love it! It reminds me of my best friend, you know? I bet they'd get along great if I brought them together. But then, their grudges are against totally different gods."The chief began to leave the room, ignoring Francesca, who was rambling incomprehensibly in a world of her own."Oh? Where are you off to?""To deal with the situation, obviously.""Are you crazy? It looks like you had a good match with that Assassin girl yesterday, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing you can do about the kids up at the ravine." Francesca closed her legs, and addressed the chief with a serious look. "If you're not careful, King Goldy might kill you the minute you butt in."The chief was well aware that what she said was correct. But as a mage who had to put the secrecy of magic first, and as a police chief who had to ensure the safety of his city, he could not sit quietly by."I can't just leave them to it. At this rate, a stray shot could easily demolish a building. I'll sound out Faldeus for help as well, although I doubt it will do any good. Even if he can't directly intervene in the fighting, it's better to tackle the cover-up sooner than later.""Oh, you don't have to get so worked up. I've already taken measures.""What...?"Francesca grinned obscenely at the dubious chief, and pronounced a sentence that would cause him even more headaches:"You see, the Servant I summoned is heading there to interrupt them as we speak!"