3rd POV
Standing atop the cliff, the tanned Servant with white hair opened his mouth. "You're quite the annoying mutt."
The voice belonged to Archer, also known as the Heroic Spirit EMIYA, who raised his arm and fired arrow after arrow toward the group below.
However, Mash raised her shield, blocking every projectile.
"Bastard, you talk too much." Cú Chulainn raised two fingers and traced fire runes in the air. In an instant, the runes shot toward Archer, who leaped from the cliff, spreading his hands to materialize two blades.
The black blade in his left hand was Kanshou, while the white one in his right was Bakuya.
These twin blades were his favorite weapons, ones that had been with him longer than he cared to remember.
Cú Chulainn pointed a finger at Archer and said sarcastically, "Damn archer, shouldn't you be using a bow?" He smirked mockingly, annoyed by Archer calling him a "dog." That provocation always got under his skin—especially from such an insolent archer.
"Tch!" Archer clicked his tongue as he landed, ignoring the insult.
He didn't have time to deal with a "dog" who liked licking thick thighs. Flexing his legs, he dashed toward the pink-haired girl.
Caster frowned, worried about how close Archer had gotten to Mash. He couldn't use his runes accurately with the enemy that was close to her.
Meanwhile, in just a second, Archer was upon Mash, swinging Kanshou and Bakuya. The pink-haired Servant parried each strike, raising her shield again and again.
She was under pressure but found it a bit ironic that Archer was more troublesome with swords than with his bow.
Altair-senpai would definitely enjoy fighting someone like him.
With that thought, she slid her foot back and swung her shield with force, forcing Archer to tilt his body to avoid the impact, which passed just inches from his chest.
Taking advantage of the opening, he threw Kanshou at her. Mash quickly brought up her shield, blocking the blade, which ricocheted off its surface and flew back into Archer's hand.
Wasting no time, he unleashed a storm of attacks from multiple angles, pressing Mash harder and harder.
Her arms were beginning to give out from fatigue, but she stood firm. She refused to disappoint her two senpai, even if one of them wasn't exactly there yet.
Archer, noticing the girl's iron defense, swung his arm and threw Bakuya to the side, seemingly making a mistake.
Mash, thinking she saw an opening, charged forward with her shield.
"Girl!" Caster shouted, realizing the obvious trap. Unfortunately, Mash was still a rookie, and her role model was a wild guy who always charged the enemy head-on, making her fall for such a basic trick.
Without her noticing, Bakuya spun through the air and flew back toward the nape of her neck.
"Mash, watch out!" Ritsuka cried, clenching her hands in frustration for being unable to help directly. Olga was in a similar situation, as non-magi like her and Ritsuka were practically useless in Servant battles.
"Amateurs…" Caster grumbled, slamming his staff against the ground and quickly drawing runes.
Before Bakuya could strike Mash, the ground behind her burst open, and massive roots emerged, shielding her back. The blade sliced through the roots, but the impact was reduced. Even so, it grazed Mash's arm, making her flinch—but she held her ground.
Meanwhile, Archer was thrown backward by the force of Mash's shield. Still, in midair, he saw a ring of fire forming around him—Caster's doing. As he tried to dodge, a wooden arm emerged from the flames, grabbing him tightly and slamming him into the ground.
Before he could recover, countless fire runes were launched at him, striking his body.
As the smoke cleared, Archer was visibly injured, burn marks covering him.
"Looks like I failed her again…" he said, forcing his gaze toward the group. "Maybe it's for the best… as victors, you should know she's unlike any of us. She holds the holy sword Excalibur…"
"We already know that, Archer-who-uses-a-sword-more-than-a-bow," Caster said, approaching with a smug grin, silently thanking the brat for confirming it. Now he could rub it in the fake archer's face.
"I see…" The dying Servant rolled his eyes toward the mutt in front of him. "I'll praise all of you… except for Caster, of course." With those words, he began to fade, offering a disdainful smirk to Cú Chulainn.
"Tch. A sore loser as always, Archer," Caster said with a wry smile, watching the Servant vanish.
"Maybe a mutt, but if you're going to see Saber, tell her… I failed." Those were Archer's final words before disappearing completely.
"Tch. Annoying to the very end," Cú grumbled, then turned to the Chaldea trio. "It's time to bring down King Arthur."
Mash, still shaken, looked down. "I'm glad you believe in me, but… do you really think I can protect everyone? I fell right into Archer's trap in the last fight, and just thinking about facing King Arthur makes my hands tremble." She looked down at her trembling hands.
Cú lightly tapped her head with his staff in encouragement. "Listen. You need courage. If you falter, your Master will die. You don't need to defeat Saber—that's my job, and… that guy's job when he shows up," he said. "You just need to protect your Master. We'll handle the rest."
Mash hesitated, but a hand touched her shoulder. She turned and saw Ritsuka smiling warmly at her. "Don't worry, Mash. I know you can do it. I believe in you!" she said without hesitation. "Besides, knowing Altair-kun, he's going to show up at the last second with a crazy grin on his face."
Mash's expression lit up in a smile. "For sure, Senpai."
From a distance, Olga couldn't help but smile too—Ritsuka's description was spot on.
In everyone's mind, it was pretty clear that Miller hadn't lost to Berserker, even though the distant sounds of their battle were worrying—like something massive was crashing into the ground.
That battlefield felt more like an apocalyptic wasteland than a proper battleground, and for a moment, even without knowing the outcome, Olga couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Berserker.
She thought about that as the group made their way through the cave, though they stopped just before reaching their final destination.
Leaning against a wall, Caster asked, "You all tired? If so, we can rest a bit. We need to be at our best to face Saber, after all." A short break would also buy some time, just in case that monkey king decided to show up.
Olga was the first to answer. "Yes, a short break wouldn't hurt." She then turned to Fujimaru, noticing a faint paleness on her face that hadn't been there before.
Sweat dripped from her skin, falling to the ground.
Facing the hologram of Dr. Roman, apple in hand, Olga asked, "Romani, are you monitoring Fujimaru's vitals? She looks paler than usual."
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Her condition's not great; it's probably because of the unexpected contract. This is the first time she's used her Magic Circuits, and now they're working overtime to supply mana to two Servants," Roman explained, sounding worried.
"It would be best if you waited for Fujimaru-kun to recover," Roman suggested, and Shielder immediately agreed.
Fujimaru thanked the doctor and Mash for trying to help her, but deep down, she hated feeling weak. Honestly, she wanted to be like Altair-kun, who never showed weakness. He was always at the frontlines, always smiling in the face of danger… always ahead of her… showing her his broad back…
Without realizing it, her cheeks flushed, and a strange warmth spread through her body…
"Senpai, are you okay?" Mash asked, tilting her head with concern. "Do you have a fever?" she said, placing a hand on her forehead and feeling the warmth.
"It's nothing, I just… I'm tired… that's all," Fujimaru said, almost trying to convince herself.
Olga glanced at her from the corner of her eye, finding the whole situation odd. For some reason, her instincts told her to stay alert around this rookie Master.
"But…" Fujimaru suddenly looked forward. The feeling this cave gave off was enough to stop her from thinking too much about the strange warmth. "This place is eerie."
"That's true," Olga agreed.
While they rested and regained their strength, they suddenly heard a sharp noise—like a heavily armed squad firing a volley at a beast.
"Judging by the mana levels, Nobunaga probably unleashed her Noble Phantasm," Caster said, resting his hand on his chin.
"Do you think Altair-senpai already won?"
"I have no idea. All I know is that we can't afford to rest anymore," he said, standing up. "He'll probably show up right in the middle of the fight or something." Caster stretched his back. "Let's go, miss—"
Before he could finish, he noticed the three girls staring in the direction of the sound, as if expecting Altair to appear.
Caster shook his head with a faint smile. That guy had already carved his way into those girls' hearts, some more than others. Still, it was clear they all thought of him.
Back in my youth, that guy would've given me a real run for my money, Cú Chulainn thought with a grin, raising his hand.
"Ladies!" Cú Chulainn clapped, snapping them out of their stupor. "Let's go!" he said with a smile.
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