Bang! Bang! Bang!
It felt like we had been running for about thirty minutes.
Following Guardian’s lead, we zig-zagged between buildings. Thanks to his maneuvers, the enemy’s attacks continued to graze past us.
"No, seriously, does it make any damn sense for an Archer to be shooting swords instead of arrows?!"
The reliable, stoic image Guardian had when he first gave orders—the one where I thought he’d be serious and taciturn—had completely evaporated within ten minutes of hauling ass.
It turned out his true personality was more like a foul-mouthed delinquent.
"Pant, pant... Just how much longer do we have to keep running?"
Director Olga Marie began to grumble, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
At first, Guardian had been running while carrying her, but his directional changes were so violent that the Director started gagging. Guardian had promptly dumped her on the ground and told her to just run.
"Guardian, I think I’m gonna die. I know this sounds crazy, but can’t we take a break? Ah... my back is so sweaty..."
Guardian’s eyes widened at my words.
I could see the string of curses forming in his mind, but he opened his mouth, hesitated, and then shut it again.
"Uh... fine, just hold on a second."
He scooped up both the Director and me, one under each arm, and began darting through the buildings at high speed.
In less than a minute, it felt like we had put two kilometers of distance between us and the enemy.
He set us down and spat on the ground.
"Is that guy really an Archer? His range has to be at least three kilometers. And he’s shooting swords?"
I caught my breath and spoke. I was certain that was Emiya.
"That’s probably the Counter Guardian, Emiya. I’m not 100% sure, but I know he’s as good with twin blades as he is with a bow. I don’t know about his Noble Phantasm, but seeing as he keeps firing swords, it seems he can either pull them from somewhere or create them. One thing’s for sure: his range rivals a sniper’s, so we need to be careful."
As I finished, both Director Olga Marie and Guardian were staring at me. It was a bit much.
"You... you little bastard, you’re pretty sharp, aren’t you? Are you really the same guy who was just screaming about wanting to see his mommy and daddy?"
Director Olga Marie also chimed in.
"How do you know that kind of information? Even I didn't know that. How does a mage of average caliber know such details?"
I quickly came up with a cover story.
"My dad was a spy, and my mom came from a mage family, though she didn't want anything to do with it. But my dad got curious and looked into her family’s background. I happened to see the research he gathered. The Holy Grail War was mentioned in there. When I heard about an Archer who shoots swords, Emiya was the only Servant I knew who fit the description."
They didn't look like they entirely believed me.
"And if I don't survive this, I’ll never see my family again. If I’m going to die... no, I don't want to die. When this is over, I just want to go home and have a meal. I’ll do everything in my power to make that happen."
Guardian crossed his arms and watched me for a moment. He let out a short sigh, a slight smirk playing on his lips.
"Director? At least he doesn't seem to be lying about that part. I can't speak for his family history, but in my opinion, his analysis of the enemy was either a lucky guess based on what he knew, or the current situation has awakened his latent potential."
It seemed Guardian had dropped his suspicions, which was a relief. The Director, however, was another story.
"I still don't trust him. It doesn't match the first impression I had... But the priority right now is resolving this situation. Damascus, I’ll let this slide for now, but once we get out of this Singularity, you will be interrogated. Don't get too comfortable; I will find out who you really are."
Guardian chuckled at her words.
"The Director shouldn't be talking, considering she was the one screaming for her life earlier..."
Guardian snickered at me. Then, his expression went flat as he spoke again.
"Right? So, why don't you come out now, 'Teacher'?"
As soon as he said that, Cu Chulainn deactivated his spirit form and appeared before us.
"That Servant of yours is sharp."
Cu Chulainn stood before my eyes. Just like in FGO, he had been summoned as a Caster. He was tall with blue hair and a refreshingly handsome face, wearing robes and carrying a wooden staff.
Guardian immediately leveled his gun at him.
"Get lost."
Guardian was aiming a revolver that emitted a yellow light at Cu Chulainn.
Wait, yellow? Does it have more functions? Is he a damn Spitfire or something?
"Guardian, wait. Given what we saw with Archer, it’s strange that he isn't attacking immediately. There might be a trap, or he might be here to make a deal."
"Oh! You're quick on the uptake!"
Cu Chulainn looked at me with surprise.
"Where did the kid who was kneeling and crying for his mommy and daddy go?"
It was annoying that he was mocking me. Even if it was mostly an act, I didn't like it.
"Guardian, kill this bastard!"
Guardian lowered his gun after hearing me.
"Nah, he doesn't seem like an enemy. No point in wasting a bullet."
Guardian chuckled.
"Exactly. Calling your life-saver a 'bastard'... how cold. Besides, even that 'Guardian' fellow wouldn't have been able to protect you if it weren't for me. Even if a Heroic Spirit wanted to answer a botched summoning like yours, they couldn't. There was no path for him to manifest. I used Rune Magecraft to force the summoning through. You should be grateful."
Guardian looked at Cu Chulainn and spoke.
"Ah~ so I have you to thank for being here. Thanks. If it weren't for you, I would've had to just watch this guy die. What’s your name? I don't have one, just call me Guardian."
Cu Chulainn replied to Guardian.
"Sorry, but we're in the middle of a Holy Grail War, so I can't give my name. I'm only here to propose an alliance because of my current objective. It’s not like I fully trust you. Just call me Caster."
Director Animusphere spoke up.
"What objective?"
"Defeating Saber and ending this Holy Grail War. For some reason, the war has become twisted. Saber took advantage of that to pick off the other Servants one by one. Now, every Servant except me is under Saber’s command, and she is currently in possession of the Holy Grail."
I couldn't remember the details perfectly, but the flow was that we ally with Cu Chulainn to take down Saber, right?
"Hmm... Chaldea was established to handle Singularities caused by 'certain reasons' anyway, so an alliance actually aligns with what we need to do, doesn't it?"
Director Animusphere agreed with me.
"True. We can't just wander into a leyline blindly right now. To set up a base camp at a leyline, we have to defeat the enemies first."
"The strongest leyline around here is guarded by Archer. So, to take the leyline, you have to take down Archer."
Cu Chulainn insisted on defeating Archer, and I agreed. Archer was likely at the Tohsaka estate, so the leyline there would be top-tier.
"Okay, then let’s go kill... uh, defeat that Archer guy. I need to pay him back for making us run like that. We'll grab supplies, check our weapons, and be ready to haul ass again if things go south."
Director Animusphere sighed at Guardian’s words.
"He’d be so reliable if he just didn't open his mouth."
I felt the same way.
I really wanted to order Guardian to just shut up. But I couldn't. Thanks to him, I had escaped death twice already, and now there was a real chance of getting out of here. I couldn't bring myself to be harsh to him.
"Going right away is fine, but shouldn't we at least have a plan? It’s better than just charging in blindly, isn't it?" Olga Marie suggested.
"Why bother with a plan? I don't have an answer for his long-range sniping either. We just have to close the distance somehow and force a melee. I’m confident then. I prefer close combat over long-range anyway. I can snipe, but my range is shorter than that Archer’s. Master, did you say he’s good with blades? Think about it. I’m insanely fast. No matter how good an Archer is with a sword, his defense can't be that great. We just get close and beat the crap out of him. If I can just land a few small wounds, he’ll eventually slow down. It’s 2-on-1 here. If things get tough, I can tag out with Caster to recover. What’s there to worry about?"
"No, that Archer isn't someone you can take so lightly," Cu Chulainn countered.
"If I were a Lancer, it might be different, but in my current state, it’s a hard fight. And he might be receiving some kind of protection or support from Saber right now."
My head was starting to hurt. Guardian seemed like a support-type himself, so were we really going to have to fight with a Caster in the vanguard?
"Maybe we could dig a tunnel or something? That might work."
Still, it wouldn't be easy.
"No, even then, it won't be easy. Like Cu Chulainn said, if you were a Lancer, it would be doable, but as a Caster, it’ll be tough. Even if you fashioned a crude spear and layered it with Reinforcement magecraft, it wouldn't be easy to match the durability of something like Gae Bolg."
Cu Chulainn stared at me intently.
"I never revealed my True Name."
With those words, Cu Chulainn radiated pure hostility toward me.
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