You call this a projection?

There was no room left to retreat. Faced with Saber’s extreme-speed dash—even if she were to be skewered with ten thousand transparent holes by his demonic spear—her resolute, do-or-die charge undoubtedly forced Lancer into a corner in reverse.

But a so-called hero is someone who can open a bright path where one should advance in the pitch-black wilderness! Seeing that he could not stop Saber’s thrust, how could Lancer allow himself to be a step behind Saber in terms of resolve?

He did not continue to retreat. Nor did he mirror Saber’s charge by rushing forward to meet her attack head-on. Instead, he stood his ground.

Ignoring the holy sword that could cleave his skull at any moment, he poured all of his magical energy into the demonic spear in his hands!

”Come, Saber!”

Why had a simple diversion suddenly turned into this life-or-death struggle? That was no longer important. Or rather, faced with such a desperate situation, Lancer’s heart was undeniably filled with excitement.

That surging magical energy, centered on the demonic spear in his hand, swirled into a vortex, causing the atmosphere to churn with a series of roars.

”The [Gáe Bolg] is a demonic spear that reverses causality.

Evading the thrust of this spear is fundamentally impossible, unless one possesses the extraordinary luck to rewrite fate and the powerful instinct to see through the coming of death.

Otherwise, the only way to break this demonic spear is to prevent Lancer from using this Noble Phantasm by staying far outside the range of [Gáe Bolg].”

What looked like a blind charge chosen to break the predicament where Emiya Shirou might be killed by Archer actually had no negative impact on Saber’s reasoning. On the contrary, just as her choice to make this seemingly risky move was the optimal choice born of careful deliberation, the more critical the moment, the more Saber could rely on her superhuman [Instinct]. In this ”bullet time” of thought, she continuously fine-tuned her movements to respond to Lancer’s counterattack.

”The former is too ethereal, and as for the latter, the moment I chose to advance, I automatically stepped into the range of this Noble Phantasm.

But Lancer, have you considered one thing?”

A confident smile appeared on Saber’s face. It was the smile of victory revealed only when a battle is proceeding according to one’s own plan and success is confirmed.

”My Master possesses Mystic Eyes that can see the future. As his Servant, I have already learned of your Noble Phantasm. Even your hidden, alternative method of using the demonic spear is something I have long been familiar with.

—Why then would I still make such a reckless move?”

Close.

Saber, without slowing down, closed the distance between her and Lancer by a few more degrees. She had clearly entered the optimal range of [Gáe Bolg].

Even Lancer began to use his mana-infused voice to shout the True Name of the Noble Phantasm in his hand: ”[Gáe Bolg]!!”

Like a beast, he slammed his foot against the earth. Under this force and magical energy, the demonic spear in Lancer’s hand distorted without warning. The spear, which should have thrust downward, suddenly defied common logic. Among many impossibilities, it chose the only curved path that could pierce Saber’s heart in a single strike, thrusting forward rapidly.

”Farewell, Saber. I’ll take your heart!”

”You’re mistaken, Lancer. It is your head that I shall claim!”

As if responding to Lancer, magical energy—even more surging magical energy—was released from within Saber. It swirled up an invincible radiance sufficient to block out all harm and all evil.

”—[Avalon]!!

With this, your bizarre abilities can no longer be used.”

-

-

-

Simultaneously, on the other side of the battlefield where Archer and Emiya Shirou were fighting.

Archer, who had used Broken Phantasm to detonate multiple pairs of [Kanshou] and [Bakuya] to create a massive smoke screen around Emiya Shirou, also thought with a smile in his heart.

”Although I don’t know what that unidentified humanoid object beside you is, it is likely the source of why you suddenly learned so many things in this era.”

Archer, who had projected [Pseudo-Anubis] and indirectly become a Stand User, naturally saw [Pseudo-Atum] beside Shirou. However, Archer did not know what [Pseudo-Atum]’s function was. He could only subconsciously make such a judgment.

But even if he didn’t know, Archer could still use his rich experience to deduce some details.

To some extent, Stands are similar to Noble Phantasms. Just as Lancer’s [Gáe Bolg] release requires a specific distance to activate, based on Shirou’s previous actions—especially his rush to the front of [All the World’s Evil] even when Saber was about to release her Noble Phantasm—Archer roughly guessed that Shirou’s mysterious abilities also needed to be within a specific range to take effect.

The only difficulty was: what exactly was that suitable distance?

...No, a precise distance wasn’t actually necessary!

Manifested in the Archer class, although he always liked to project two swords to hack people, his specialty was actually sniping enemies from a long distance.

However...

He glanced at Tohsaka Rin nearby. And at Saber, who was currently pinned down by Lancer but would inevitably rush to Shirou’s side to support him soon. After measuring the magical energy consumed by his multiple uses of Projection Magecraft, Archer did not seize this rare moment to immediately pull back. Instead, he stayed right where he was.

While Shirou was unable to respond to his actions, he began the chant for his unique magical incantation.

”I am the bone of my sword.”

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