Red Rider and Archer had not initially followed Berserker here. Had they been tracking him, they'd never have missed the opportunity presented by the mist to force Arthur's retreat from the battle.
Instead, they'd received intel from Assassin's Master, urging them to swiftly reinforce Saber in Trifas and prevent her from falling into a Black Faction ambush.
While they hadn't directly followed Berserker, his movements hadn't escaped the priest's notice—nor had those of his allied Saber.
When Berserker abruptly raced toward Saber's position, Shirou Kotomine immediately sensed trouble.
Losing Berserker—a barely controllable Servant with mediocre combat ability—wouldn't hurt their plans significantly. At worst, he'd feel only mild regret.
But losing Saber, their strongest frontline Servant, would be a tremendous blow to the Red Faction.
Based on previous engagements in Trifas against Yggdmillennia's golems and homunculi, Saber's combat parameters were unquestionably top-tier. He couldn't afford such a loss.
After swift deliberation, Shirou Kotomine immediately summoned the recently recovered Archer, Rider, and Lancer (stationed near the Church), urging them to reinforce Saber immediately.
If Saber were surrounded by multiple Black Servants, there'd be no recovering the situation.
Thus, Rider, fastest among them, reached the battlefield first, followed by Archer, whose long-range capabilities allowed her to strike without approaching directly.
Now, let us return briefly to the moment when Shirou Emiya encountered Astolfo.
The scene shifts to another part of the battlefield.
"You bastard!"
Mordred, lightning surging furiously from her crimson blade, pointed angrily at Achilles. In the blink of an eye, she charged at him with explosive speed.
BOOM—!
The vicious blow directly connected with Achilles's body, the impact so fierce it launched him skyward.
Yet Achilles appeared utterly unfazed, gracefully spinning in mid-air before landing perfectly unharmed.
"I'd advise you to take your Master and retreat immediately," Achilles remarked coldly. "Archer has already prepared her Noble Phantasm. She'll unleash it here any second."
He didn't care in the slightest about someone incapable of harming him.
"You—!"
Seeing her fierce attack have absolutely no effect ignited Mordred's fury. Brandishing her sword once more, she slashed directly at Achilles's shoulder.
She knew the green-haired man was a fellow Red Faction Servant; she had no intention of killing him—but teaching him a lesson was unavoidable.
"If you insist on fighting, I'll gladly entertain you," Achilles said calmly, not even bothering to evade. "But in that case, your Master is probably doomed."
Meanwhile, Arthur, hurled backward earlier, stabbed his sword deep into the earth, sparks flying as he forced himself to a halt against overwhelming momentum.
Before he could react, crimson lightning streaked past him toward Achilles. Arthur's own predicament, however, was equally dire:
An enormous shadow loomed behind him.
A disturbingly cheerful grin split the monstrous face.
"Hahahaha! Oppressor!"
Huge arms slammed downward, pressing with such crushing force Arthur felt the air itself compress around him.
Arthur spun instantly, his sword slicing at speeds surpassing sound, neatly severing the grotesque limbs before darting backward to safety.
Just then, the oppressive mist vanished instantly—as if it had never existed.
Now fully revealed, Berserker's grotesque figure stood openly before Arthur.
This could no longer even be called human.
Berserker had become a horrific mass of pulsating flesh. His arms had multiplied to eight, three boneless appendages thrashing wildly like fleshy whips, strong enough to crush stone.
Unable to support his monstrous weight on two legs, insect-like appendages sprouted from his torso. His head retracted grotesquely into his neck, dinosaur-like jaws protruding from his shoulders. Five grotesque eyes glared madly from various points across his chest, head, and shoulders.
Arthur had never witnessed a being so vile and terrifying.
Yet, the grotesque laughter never ceased:
"Hahahahaha! More oppression! Give me more, oppressor!"
A green streak flashed through the air, moving faster than the human eye could perceive, ignoring distance altogether as it sped toward Arthur.
"Let's continue our duel, King of Knights!"
Achilles roared, brandishing his spear and thrusting directly toward Arthur's heart.
Thunk!
The sickening sound of flesh being pierced echoed—but it came from behind Arthur.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
"What—?!"
Achilles's eyes widened in shock. Arthur hadn't been hit; the spear hadn't pierced his heart.
Instead, arrows faster than bullets streaked in from afar, piercing Achilles's limbs and forcibly altering his trajectory mid-strike.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
Pinned violently to the ground by wooden arrows, Achilles found himself utterly immobilized, as though the Black Archer had perfectly anticipated his every move.
But what disturbed Achilles wasn't Archer's flawless accuracy.
It was the ease with which those mere wooden arrows penetrated his invulnerable body.
These arrows weren't divine weapons like Arthur's sword—they shouldn't have broken his defenses.
There was only one explanation: Black Archer possessed divinity.
The realization filled Achilles with exhilaration.
Encountering three Servants capable of bypassing his defenses on a single battlefield—his warrior's blood surged with renewed vigor.
With a triumphant grin, Achilles effortlessly shattered the arrows holding him and swiftly yanked them from his flesh.
"Now this is what I call exciting!"
His spear seemed to answer, glowing brilliantly silver beneath the pale moonlight.
"Saber!"
With the mist now dispersed, Shirou quickly spotted Arthur. Riding atop Astolfo's mount, he swiftly joined the battlefield.
At that exact moment, everyone present witnessed an arrow brimming with dense magical energy streak through the air. Like a meteor, it soared skyward, piercing the heavens, vanishing into the night toward the moon above.
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everyone is on vacation so no character notes this week
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