In defiance of the intense pain, the man knocked down five arrows. A miraculous act even in his perfect state, it was seemingly easier to perform with only his reserve strength.
Hero. This is what the man was called. This is how the man lived.
However, just because he was called a hero does not mean he is a vessel that saves everyone. No matter his willpower, he couldn't save his friend, he could not save this woman in front of him.
The confrontation with his teacher was his top priority this Great Holy Grail War. He had concentrated on that, he had only focused on that. It would be a lie to say he had not known about her abnormality, but the reality is he had adverted his gaze from that abnormality.
The world is based on competitive principles. Hate and love are just accessories to that. So, they aren't things you should relentlessly drag around.
That was the logic of
when he was alive.
She had lived in the same world and held the same assumptions.
Therefore, he did not truly understand the woman’s pure, earnest love or despair resulting from that. As for how a hero could so easily throw away her pride, that was unimaginable.
There was too much ignorance and arrogance, therefore laziness.
The man's sins cannot be counted. That's why all the pain from his heart torn to pieces and his flesh ripped up from battle is his divine punishment and atonement.
Heavy was the spear that was normally so light, and the impact from the arrows reverberate throughout his body. He doesn't want to win. Actually, it might be more comforting to lose.
However, he can't do that.
You're the one she chose. But vetoing that is my obligation.
Because the one she should settle something with isn't Ruler.
"The one you shoot, is me"
The coughing man propelled himself into the air using a stone pillar as a platform. The magical beast's wings unfurled and she let out a grating screech. The fired arrows disregarded everything and rushed at the man. Out of recklessness more than calculation, he wove through the countless number of arrows by reading their trajectory. His only options had been to receive the arrows or close the gap. He had chosen the latter.
A leap - kicking off a stone pillar once again, he nimbly changed his trajectory.
An arrow he failed to dodge pierced the top of his shoulder.
But pain and injury no longer held any meaning to the man. He would slay the monstrous beast.
In exchange for the arrow on the shoulder, the leaping man made contact with the monstrous beast.
In his heart, the man believed that this altered appearance does not qualify for tears.
The spear that shared his life smoothly moved and directly connected with the beast's wing. The fallen monstrous beast was blown away, head over heels, with the man in pursuit.
Yet, just before she fell and crashed onto the stone floor, she forcibly twisted her whole body so that her legs gripped onto two pillars, fixing her upside-down body to the space between them. Like that, she aimed and shot at the man in pursuit.
Being able to sense that extremely ridiculous bombardment before it was fired, he very nearly dodged it.
His neck was torn open, and blood oozed out.
The monstrous beast, with just a paper-thin difference to how humans act, let out a raging howl. Without faltering or hesitation, the man thrust the point of his spear.
The black arrow was as if it was shot out of a pistol during a quickdraw and the spear strike was like purple lightning.
A crashing, thunderous roar echoed in both their ears and both savored the intense pain that brought them to the verge of vomiting.
"Ku-"
"Guu-"
They both stifle their anguished cries. The man is much less hurt. Thanks to his chest armor, the wound is shallow.
But as far as the monstrous beast is concerned the depth of the wound does not matter. She is a monster that will accomplish what she must as long as she is breathing. The man sighs and looks at his long spear. It's a spear that defeated many heroes. Be that as it may, a curse has followed the spear.
It'll lead to the death of the people he loves.
Shaking off his excess thoughts, the man starts running once more. But, there is an overwhelming disparity between the man whose heel was shot and the fastest hunter.
Reflected in the man's eye was not only the misty figure. From the upper right there was a soft sound as well as the sound of a breeze.
A great number of imperceivable, and therefore invisible, arrows once again rained down on the man.
The monstrous beast understood.
The man's attack was slower than it used to be.
The wound on his heel was like a curse that ate at the man. At this rate he would be unable to endure three more attacks.
Then, the monstrous beast made a quick decision. Logically, to kill the man without taking any injuries she needed distance. While she couldn't see his figure, his heat could be tracked.
The monstrous beast had no interest in whoever this man was.
But, he was good prey. Notched arrows were twisted and then shot at high speed. These arrows would silently rain upon the man.
Fresh blood leaking from his heel stained the stone floor. The monstrous beast had sent two arrows towards the man's lower back during the barrage.
Of course, the man's spear was still going strong. Even those arrows was knocked down.
However, his body could only endure the surging impact and the intense pain one more time. With this in mind, the monstrous beast flew around the stone pillar, taking aim at the head for her final blow.
The spinning jet black arrow easily breaks the sound barrier.
If the arrow were to land, that would be fine. If it did not, counterattacking or evasion would lead to the man's death.
"OOOOOOOOOOOO" The man yelled.
While yelling, he put all his strength in an attack to counter the arrow flying towards his head. The impact born from the interception severely damaged his organs so much that blood came out of his mouth and eyeballs.
Being a hero changed nothing.
He was a living being. And no one would believe a bloody figure like that would still be alive.
...But the man rose.
His breathing was ragged. That sign demonstrated he was close to death and he would die if left like that.
But that's not a problem. The man is a Servant. No matter how close he is to death, as long as he's not dead a chance still remains.
The monstrous beast slid down the stone pillar and landed right in front of the man. It was another logical decision. The man was now unable to dodge or move. He probably lost all five senses too.
His breath was as thin as silk.
The sound of his heart stopped a long time ago.
Without hesitation, regret, or mercy, the monstrous beast let loose the final attack.
Ruining this world, mocking this world is why
was born and will continue to do so until my end.
"Pierce,
!"
A jet-black arrow was fired. The man could not move. The target was his spiritual core. The divine protection from his mother that would protect his body from all malice was already gone. It was exceedingly obvious he would die if the attack landed.
The man already accepted this.
He accepted it, but there was just one thing he could not surrender.
"This man's spear is cursed"
The man ignored the death that awaited him in one second since what he was looking for was right in front of him--
In a loud voice, "Lets go!
Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē
Spear-tip of the Star Traversing the Skies
--!"
The meeting of a meteoric spear and a jet-black arrow. The man had prepared himself, he was content to accept the dark arrow. Surprised, the monstrous beast attempted to evade the spear. However, a split-second delay determined success or failure. The final attack, an arrow shot with all her power, had delayed the monstrous beast for an instant.
"Ga,hhh"
The monstrous beast, stabbed in the abdomen, moaned in pain. Although it was fatal, it didn't instantly kill her.
...The man also understood this.
It was not a big deal like knowing the future, but mere warrior's intuition. That's why, without hesitation, the man had started running.
I was shot through the heel, so this body is no longer the fastest in human history -- Even so, I AM the fastest.
Reflected in his eyes is a beast devilishly disparaging that body. Fueled by hatred, a little girl who is trying to fulfill her dream.
"URAAAAAAAAAAA"
The man runs through the battlefield in an instant. The monstrous beast tries to meet the enemy but the spear has completely sealed her movement.
If that's the case, the monstrous beast summons another arrow. It doesn't have to be as strong as the last one. It doesn't matter as long as it keeps him at bay for even a moment.
His spirit core is already pierced, a man standing at the edge of death's abyss only needs one push, after all.
At the end, she fired a total of three arrows. But the man did not show the slightest indication of dodging.
Abdomen, thigh, chest. An arrow ate into each of these three places. Nothing fatal, if he was already dead they would just be unremarkable gashes.
But he did not even attempt to block the arrows. The man's running speed did not decrease. In fact, it increased. Forward, like a spear. A sprint just like a comet.
"OOOOOOOOOOOO"
The monstrous beast is ready for the screaming man. Catch his spear, smash his head, gouge his heart, crush his skull -- if I can do it, I'll do it.
Something like that might kill me. But, I am the Calydonian Boar. As long as this curse exists I will not die.
The man jumped. One hand is on the monstrous beast's head and the other on the wings growing from her back. The monstrous beast is astonished by his actions.
"Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!"
This man is...
"Shut up. You won't be defiling her any longer."
Tearing off the monstrous beast -- !!
Putting strength into his muscles that almost make them rupture, he tears off the filthy hide. The ripped hide strongly shudders once and then disappears like dust. She could only be a monstrous beast with the Noble Phantasm
Agrius Metamorphosis
Boar of Divine Punishment
.
Without the Noble Phantasm, she can only return to being Archer of Red. And shortly afterward, she recalls the man in front of her.
In a daze, she murmurs the man's class.
"You're - Rider."
"My bad sis. I was late."
Why did I fight him? Why did I probably kill him? It's not like I disliked him. In the first place he's a comrade. I couldn't fight him. But... I did. I killed him. I wore that Noble Phantasm and did what I thought was right.
With that thought, death quickly took her.
----------
There's a section like 30 pages later that's Achilles' past and his final convo with Atalante you see in the anime
Originally Posted by Sandstorm77
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