As they landed near the coast, they noticed a small boat sailing away into the darkness. Archer frowned as he looked into the distance, recognizing someone in the darkness. And even though he recognized that person, he said nothing about it.
"There they are. They are a servant and his master. One is an old man who looks like a pirate, and the other is a young boy whose face I can barely see."
Archer let go of Rin so she could put her feet on the ground, and he took out his bow along with a black sword. He aimed the bow at the small boat, and the sword transformed into a bright blue arrow. The fluctuating wind from the mana that began to fill the arrow stirred the nearby waters.
"If they are enemies, then sinking them would be a good idea, but we don't know what kind of servant he is. He might have the ability to walk on water."
"Huh... I don't think they summoned Jesus Christ."
That would be impossible. Archer looked at the target and released the arrow. A wave of wind exploded from the bow, and the arrow shot toward the small boat making its way through the waves. The arrow pierced the wood, and the boat began to sink.
On the sinking boat, Rider and his Master looked at Archer in the distance.
"Hahaha! Is that all you've got, chaval?" His boots were getting wet with water. "You haven't seen anything yet!" Rider shouted as he laughed. He raised his sword high, and his mana consumption skyrocketed.
The waters filled with mist, and within that mist, a large ship of ancient and gloomy design appeared. Small oil lanterns illuminated the bow and stern, where the shadow of that man became clear to Archer's eyes.
Rider materialized a helm and placed it in the stern cabin. Then his terrifying smile and laughter echoed across the ocean.
"Hahahaha! You and your bow are no match for my ship, Archer! If you want to kill me, you'll have to come here!"
Although Archer couldn't hear anything because of the distance between them, a bad feeling flooded his veins. This time he loaded a stronger sword and shot it with his bow. The arrow pierced the ship, but it took no damage, as if the ship itself were a ghostly entity.
"A ship... Rider..." Rin tied up the loose ends and came to that conclusion.
If Rider was on a ship that he had summoned out of thin air, that meant it was his mount. Facing a Rider on his mount was not a good idea, but Archer smiled when he saw something on the shore.
Rin noticed Archer's gaze and had the same idea.
"What do we do now, Rin?" he asked.
She smiled defiantly. This fight seemed difficult, but she was sure she would win. She had Archer, and if it came down to a fight, she had two sharp friends she could use with great agility. So, if she decided to throw herself into the lion's den, Archer would follow her as her faithful servant.
"We can't do anything but face them head-on."
Archer sighed and smiled. Then, together, they headed to the dark part of the city's coast, the port where multiple ships were moored.
Meanwhile, on the mysterious ship, Rider took a sip from his wine bottle. The Master watched silently, sitting on a barrel. On either side of the ship, there were four cannons loaded and ready for war. Rider's Master saw the cannons, and that caught the servant's attention.
"Your mana may be pitiful, chaval, but it's enough to fire those cannons continuously for an hour. If Archer and his Master get close, they'll both be blown to pieces." He took one last drink from the bottle before putting it away with a smile. "Your idea was good. Using my charisma to make someone appear is risky because it could attract more than one enemy, but it worked out pretty well."
The boy remained silent, but his mouth moved a few seconds later. This time he didn't whisper.
"Magus are so narcissistic and egocentric that I wouldn't be surprised if, even though this is a trap, they throw themselves headfirst into the pit."
"That's right, chaval. Use your enemy's ego as a weapon. You couldn't have said it better."
And just as they both predicted, a few minutes after Archer and his Master disappeared from the port, a yacht glowing with green lines appeared, speeding across the water. Those aboard the yacht were Archer and his Master.
Rin held the yacht's steering wheel, keeping it on a straight course toward the enemy ship. Archer, on the other hand, was holding the bow to continue riddling Rider with arrows. He fired constant arrows that fell like meteorites.
Rinder smiled nervously. This Archer is really good at what he does, but Rider laughed and shook his head. Suddenly, a flintlock rifle appeared in his hand. He aimed at the falling arrows and fired, but the arrows did not stop in front of the pellets.
"Chaval! You have to dodge!" said Rider, grabbing the boy by his sweatshirt and running him across the deck as the arrows fell.
The arrows didn't actually damage the ship; they passed through it as if it were intangible. This was Rider's advantage over Archer. Archer couldn't sink the ship unless he boarded it, and that was the opportunity to kill him.
They dodged the arrows for quite a while, and to a certain extent, it was hilarious to see an old man dragging a boy like a rag across the deck of the ship. Rin couldn't see anything, but she would have teased Rider's master if she could.
When they reached the ship, Archer placed his foot on the rudder and turned it so that the ship would continue drifting on the water around the ship.
"Keep the rudder like that, Rin."
"Hm! I can do better than that."
Rin took some jewels out of her pocket and clenched them in her palm. She pointed her finger at the rudder and recited some words in German. The rudder stiffened and did not move anymore. She had used magecraft to reinforce it, which immobilized the rudder. In a person, this would have increased the hardness of their skin, but this magecraft could also be used for these things.
Noticing that the rain of arrows had stopped, Rider released the boy and leaned over the side of the ship. As he did so, an arrow pierced his hat. He immediately hid behind the deck and gripped his sword tightly.
He smiled madly and stood up.
"You made a mistake, Archer! Cannons ready! Fire!" He waved his sword as he gave the order, and the cannons automatically aimed at Archer.
Four detonations exploded, and cannonballs made of mana flew toward the yacht, but Archer and Rin did not flinch. Archer swung his bow around in a full circle, and it disintegrated into golden particles, giving way to a pair of large swords in each of Archer's hands.
With that 360-degree turn, Archer cut the four cannonballs in half. Rin pointed her finger at Rider's face and fired multiple fireballs.
But suddenly, the screech of a thousand insects echoed. Rider smiled and opened his arms as if welcoming something. His smile was genuine and disturbing.
"Archer! Those things are..."
"The Crest Worms."
From the stern of the ship, hundreds of horrible flying insects shot toward the yacht. Archer was distracted by the insects, and Rider took advantage of that. A giant anchor appeared in Rider's hand. He swung it quickly over his hand and threw it at the yacht, acting just after Archer regained his concentration.
The anchor hooked onto the hull and stopped the yacht's advance. The sharp braking of the yacht due to the anchor almost threw Rin into the water.
"Damn insects. They disgust me!" said Rin, holding onto the helm to keep from falling. "Take my magecraft!" she shouted, firing fireballs from her fingers while holding the mana-infused jewels in her hand.
From the helm of Rider's ship, the boy turned hard to starboard and then to port to destabilize the yacht so he could throw Archer and his Master into the water. It was working, as Archer couldn't keep his bow focused if there was too much movement, and the same was true for Rin. The insects were swarming around her, and even though they were being burned to death by the fireballs, they kept coming back to attack.
"It's a Matou!" Rin shouted as she fired relentlessly.
The servant Rider belongs to a member of the Matou family. The three primordial families, creators of the Holy Grail War, have finally come together. This is no coincidence, for the Grail itself willed it to be so.
The cannons continued to fire and the insects continued to obstruct their vision. If Archer and Rin didn't do something, Matou and Rider would win the battle. They had no choice but to board the ship and face Rider head-on.
—Near Kotomine Church—
The swords clashed, the metal reverberating with power. The ground splits with each clash of power between Berserker and Saber. The two duel to decide tonight's winner. All of this was taking place in the cemetery near the church.
Saber's armor is covered in cuts, with blood slowly spilling onto the metal plates, but Berserker is in the same condition. The only difference is that Berserker seems to grow stronger the more damage he takes.
Nearby, Shirou is running for his life. His body is covered by Gradation Air, which boosts his strength and hardens his body. Something is chasing him right now. They are translucent birds that look like they are woven from fine albino thread.
The birds lunge at Shirou, pecking and wounding him, splattering blood.
He had no way to escape. He is running because he is thinking of a solution to this. The battle began very unevenly. Illya and her servant are formidable in every way.
He ran between the trees. He jumped between the branches. He looked around desperately.
"Where are you going, onii-chan?"
Illya walked calmly behind the birds, who did nothing but annoy Shirou. If Illya wanted to kill him, she would have done so from the beginning, but where would the fun be in that?
This is a game of cat and mouse. If the mouse gets tired, the mouse dies.
At this moment, Shirou wished he had a weapon to defend himself. He used tree branches on many occasions, enhanced with Gradation Air, and struck some of the birds, destroying those wretches in the process, but they regenerated.
His endurance is not infinite, and he is already beginning to tire. This was not going to end well.
Suddenly, in front of him, Saber appeared fighting Berserker. The sword blows interrupted the chase, and even though she was fighting a different enemy, she took advantage of that to make Berserker destroy the birds himself.
"Shirou!" Saber shouted, moving away with Berserker.
She gave her master this opportunity to survive. Shirou didn't have to kill right now. He had to survive first in order to win, and that's what he was going to do.
But Illya caught up to him pretty quickly.
"Oh, Berserker. How could you damage my toys?" Illya lamented.
Shirou, covered in blood, turned around and faced Illya's gaze. Their fight was about to resume, but to buy some time, Shirou quickly came up with something.
"You... you have to tell me how she is. You have to tell me where they're hiding her. If you're going to kill me, I need to know about her."
But who is she in the first place?
***
Once again, they found themselves in a different position. Toru used his air platforms to remain suspended in midair. They watched the fight from above so that Saber and Berserker wouldn't find them by chance.
"What do you think, Master? Should we take advantage of the situation and kill the girl? She's dangerous and knows how to use defensive and offensive magecraft quite well. We can leave the boy for later. Or I could even try to kill them both."
"If we can get rid of them at the same time, that would be the best thing that could happen to us."
Sakura's dark determination is something Toru admires. Not everyone is completely focused on the goal. Whatever this girl wants to ask the Grail must be very important.
"I understand. Then we'll wait. Today, two Masters will fall."