25+ Advance chapters on Patreon
"Hahahaha, you're quite the bold one, black-haired Archer!" Achilles laughed, his tone brimming with excitement rather than anger at Yuto's cocky words. "Either you've got the strength to back up that attitude, or you're just too dumb to see reality. Let's find out which it is. Show me if your skills match your mouth!"
With a flick of his reins, Achilles spurred his Immortal Chariot into action. Pulled by three horses, it streaked toward Yuto like a meteor crashing to earth. The ground trembled under the pounding hooves, the sound echoing in the open air. Normally, such a racket would draw a crowd, but the servants had picked a spot far from Homurahara Academy, giving them room to cut loose.
Yuto moved like a shadow, his body blurring into afterimages as he sidestepped the chariot's charge. In one fluid motion, he darted to Achilles' side. Their eyes locked, a silent clash of wills sparking between them, urging both to unleash their full power.
Yuto didn't hesitate. His foot cracked the pavement as he surged forward, twin blades Kanshou and Bakuya flashing in his hands. A flurry of steel rained down on Achilles' right flank, sharp and relentless.
"Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē!" Achilles shot back, summoning his meteor spear. With a single, forceful swing, he unleashed a wave of magical energy, knocking Yuto's blades aside with ease.
Yuto pressed the attack, his speed boosted by dragon-grade magical energy, enough to rattle even the toughest close-range fighters. Achilles, though a Rider and less suited to melee, held his own. His spear danced, reading Yuto's moves and blocking the spinning blades with precision.
"You fell for it," Yuto said, a sly grin creeping across his face.
"Stella!!!" he shouted, detonating the projected Kanshou and Bakuya. A blast of magical energy erupted, laced with wild lightning, swallowing Achilles whole. The heat seared the ground, and the shockwave cracked the rooftop beneath them.
Five seconds passed. Achilles stumbled from the smoke, his body torn but knitting itself back together thanks to his immortality. Before he could recover, Yuto closed in. A quick slash sent the spear flying from Achilles' grip, followed by a brutal punch wrapped in black and red lightning. The blow landed square, hurling Achilles backward.
"Black Flash!" The impact rang out, sharp and clear.
"Dromeus Komētēs!" Achilles bellowed, calling up a gust of wind to pull away. This Noble Phantasm, born from his legend as the fastest hero, let him zip across battlefields in an instant.
But Yuto's punch had connected, and Achilles' eyes widened. 'This guy… he can match my Noble Phantasm?' he thought, weaving through a hail of magical arrows Yuto fired after him. 'No way he's just an Archer.' Yuto hadn't even used his own Noble Phantasm, yet Achilles was already down two of his own and still losing ground.
'Fantasy Collapse!' Yuto's magical energy flared, his dragon heart pumping raw power. He gripped a plain black longbow and projected Caladbolg, a massive spiral sword, onto the string. Known for leveling landscapes, this anti-army Noble Phantasm could carve through hills with a single strike.
Light flared as the surrounding energy surged into the sword. With a crack, Caladbolg shattered, collapsing into a swirling mass of crimson lightning. Yuto shaped the chaos, directing it into a storm of raw force.
"Is that…?" Scathach's eyes sharpened, catching sight of the weapon. "Fergus' magic sword? Projected through magecraft? It's not the real thing, but it's got most of its punch. Archer, you're really something else."
"Noble Phantasm: Achilles Cosmos!" Achilles felt the heat and threw up his third Noble Phantasm. This shield, crafted by Hephaestus, conjured the world he knew.
It formed a barrier that could block anything, from personal strikes to divine assaults.
A blinding glow lit the sky as Yuto's energy storm slammed into the shield. The clash drowned everything in a flood of magical light, hiding the result.
"Who won?" Scathach murmured, tracing a rune to sweep away the dust. As the air cleared, she saw Yuto standing over Achilles, a projected sword in one hand and Achilles' head in his other. He has outrun Achilles at the last second.
Achilles' head twitched, his immortality struggling to pull him back together. Yuto projected the Harpe and raised it, aiming for the heel, his final weak point.
Then suddenly, a sharp magical pulse flared from hundreds of meters away. Yuto swung instinctively, but a strange beam sliced through the building, zeroing in on him. It melted steel and stone, wrapping him in its glow. With a crisp ring, his sword cut through the magic, leaving him untouched amid the rubble. But his face darkened; Achilles had slipped away, leaping into his chariot.
Clip-clop!
The chariot bolted, vanishing in a blink.
"Think you can run? I said I'd kill you, and I meant it!" Yuto's voice was cold. He raised a hand, and the air rippled. A giant sword, dripping with lava and stretching dozens of meters, emerged.
"Noble Phantasm: Dawn's Horizon that Incinerates Ten Thousand Seas (Sul-sagana)!" The divine weapon slashed down, its heat and size overwhelming, making Achilles pale.
"A divine construct?! How does he have that kind of Noble Phantasm?!" He pushed his horses to flee, but they froze, locked in place by a gleaming chain: the Chain of Heaven, built to bind the divine.
"It's over," Achilles thought, dread sinking in as the fiery blade split him in half.
"Caster!" Scathach snapped, brushing off the magical wave with a rune. Her expression soured, getting caught in the mess didn't sit well with the Shadow Queen.
"So, Rider and Caster teamed up against us?" she mused.
"Doesn't matter," Yuto said, landing with Achilles' head in hand. "No trick beats raw strength."
Scathach crossed her arms, her stance relaxed yet striking. She stepped closer, her crimson eyes locked on him, radiating a quiet charm. Yuto didn't shy away from the view.
"So I won the bet in under five minutes."
"A deal's a deal," Scathach replied, brushing her hair back with a smooth flick. Her regal air carried a rare warmth. "Tonight, seven, at Rin's place. I'm yours for the evening."
"Straightforward as ever," Yuto said, rubbing his nose. Scathach, the Celtic queen, wasn't one to back out.
.........….
They headed back to Homurahara Academy. A "gas explosion" near the old school building had cut classes short.
In a nearby park, Rin in her school uniform and red jacket, cornered Artoria. The day's chaos had her on edge, and she didn't hold back.
"What's going on? What did you make Archer do? The Holy Grail War's supposed to stay hidden!"
"Uh, Tohsaka-san?" Artoria fumbled, scratching her head. She was just as lost as Rin.
"Who said you could grill her?" Yuto stepped out from the shadows, his tone sharp as he eyed Rin.
Purple particles swirled, and Scathach appeared, backing him up with a steady presence.
"Okay, okay, let's not fight," Artoria cut in, raising her hands. "With this new group after us, we need a plan."
"Sorry, I overreacted," Rin said, calming down. She'd spent the day digging through books and rushed over after Scathach's message, worried for Artoria.
"It's fine," Artoria said, her smile soft. "Tohsaka-san, want to team up?"
"Team up?" Rin paused, glancing at Scathach.
"It's sudden. Lancer and I need to think it over."
"Fair enough," Yuto and Artoria agreed.
The groups split off. On the way back, Yuto and Artoria ran into a flustered Sakura.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━━
patreon.com/DUKE3500 for advance chapters for all the novels i translate for 2$