Chapter 68. The identity of Archer is revealed, shocking the world!
"My future self is seriously ridiculous..."
At the Celestial Curtain, Yukinoshita Yukino covered her forehead with her hand, feeling slightly helpless.
There was absolutely no way she could ever do something like that—killing people and lying? That was a bit too explosive.
That was purely the behavior of a scumbag.
Heroic Spirit Yukino.
A scumbag?
Well, whatever, it didn't matter anymore. After all, that was just her future self in a parallel world.
Her current self believed in "right" rather than "justice," and she would never become something like that Archer. She only helped and saved those worth saving, walking the path she believed to be right.
Now that she thought about it...
What did I do to become a Heroic Spirit?
Did I cause some earth-shattering event?
Very quickly, while everyone was still in shock over Archer's shamelessness, the camera slowly shifted.
To the gloomy Matou mansion, where the chirping of insects echoed eerily.
Suddenly, waves of revolting, maniacal laughter rang out repeatedly.
Full of arrogance and aggression.
Eyes looking down on everyone.
["Hahaha... Rider, well done!"]
[Matou Makoto laughed arrogantly, his clothes flapping wildly in the strong wind.]
[This ambush was absolutely flawless.]
[As expected of a genius like me, being able to come up with such a strategy.]
[With Archer retreating, Saber is no longer a threat.]
[Medusa's powerful combat ability is enough for her to easily eliminate Saber. After that, there will only be five Servants left. Whether we ambush Masters or whatever else, as long as we win, it's all good.]
[In the end, he would obtain the omnipotent Holy Grail!]
[The black-haired young man indulged in his imagination, his grin nearly splitting his face.]
[However.]
["Tap tap~"]
[Soft footsteps rang out, just enough to be noticed.]
[Under the moonlight, strands of mana flickered into existence in the air.]
[They came from the basement, from the ancient magical barrier of the Matou mansion, refined over hundreds of years. Now, it could detect any enemy no matter how well they hid.]
[Matou Makoto frowned—two unfamiliar presences were approaching.]
[Were they Masters of this Holy Grail War?]
["Heh~ You guys really picked the wrong opponent."]
[He sneered coldly, mana bursting from his body, preparing to fight right then and there.]
[This place was the magical stronghold of the Matou family. He himself was a genius with forty magic circuits, and his 'grandpa' wouldn't just stand by and watch. Enemies coming here were basically walking into their own deaths.]
[If things went south, he could just use a Command Spell to summon Rider back.]
[Matou Makoto believed in one thing above all: do whatever the hell he wanted.]
[——Win steadily.]
"Man, he really knows how to hide..."
Everyone fell silent, eyelids twitching in pain, feeling the urge to punch this guy through the screen.
Perhaps this was the proper way to open the Holy Grail War.
Like the Purge King, charging straight in with Berserker fair and square.
It was the opposite that felt off.
...
["Clang clang clang clang——!!"]
[Building after building collapsed as two figures clashed beneath the moonlight.]
[Cu Chulainn fought with wild abandon, his cursed spear moving like a natural extension of his limbs. Its brilliant bloody light tore through the night sky, colliding with the sharp black-and-white twin blades of his opponent, sparks exploding like apocalyptic fireworks.]
[Thick black smoke billowed as thunderous explosions shook the heavens, stirring even the heart and soul.]
"..."
In the real world, Retsu Kaioh was utterly shaken, his scalp tingling from the goosebumps.
Two martial artists at the peak of skill dueling amid high-rises—this scene was nothing short of myth incarnate!
Even the aftershocks were enough to make the earth tremble.
This was a battle of epic proportions, the likes of which had never been seen before—a magnificent display as Heroic Spirits took the modern stage.
This was no longer a stage he could even dream of stepping onto.
Naturally, many other martial artists had the same expression as him, their whole bodies trembling in exhilaration.
Morning enlightenment, evening death, no regrets.
To witness such a soul-stirring battle firsthand—one could die with no regrets!
...
["Yo~ Archer, aren't you gonna use your class's signature ability?"]
["You're clearly an Archer-class Servant, yet your close-quarters combat is so good—it makes no sense..."]
[Amid the intense fight, Cu Chulainn grinned brightly, exchanging high-speed blows with the white-haired female Heroic Spirit, sparks flying in every direction from the clash, while still having energy to tease her.]
The Observer Network was filled with commentary—despite the tension, many were gleefully joking:
"Archer's signature trait: not using a bow."
"An Archer that doesn't melee isn't a real Archer!"
"I, Archer, have a dream: melee combat!"
"Archers have always been veteran rank grinders. Now's the time to show true skill."
"You wouldn't believe it, but I'm an Archer who uses dual blades."
"Everyone knows us ADCs love soloing top lane up close."
"Yeah, the guy above is definitely talking about some 'balanced' 5v5 game."
"We, Riot, are masters of game balance."
...
[Come to think of it, Cu Chulainn still felt a bit regretful deep down.]
[He loved soloing—nothing beat the thrill of a one-on-one.]
[But he hadn't had the chance to take a nuclear arrow from Archer yet, and that felt like a real loss.]
[That feeling when your opponent unleashes their ultimate move, and you laugh it off while watching the shock and despair on their face—truly intoxicating.]
[Unfortunately, the opponent didn't seem interested in that. A class like Archer, meant for ranged combat, was choosing to fight Lancer up close. No matter how skilled they were, they quickly fell into a disadvantage.]
[The white-haired female Heroic Spirit remained calm and composed, not bothering to explain herself.]
[Cu Chulainn, still thinking, lunged with his spear like a dragon, tearing open a hundred-meter-long rift.]
[The white-haired Heroic Spirit responded smoothly, dodging the horizontal sweep and swinging both blades at his throat, only to be blocked by Cu Chulainn's withdrawn spear.]
["Clang!"]
[Spear and blade clashed wildly, generating crackling electricity and sparks as they scraped against each other.]
[Explosions rocked the air, with fierce gales howling between their fierce blows.]
[The white-haired Heroic Spirit frowned slightly, both arms injured, her whole body sent flying backward.]
[Though they both belonged to the Three Knight Classes, in terms of Strength and Agility, she couldn't match the "Hound of Culann." The fact that she held out this long was only because he was still warming up.]
[A serious disadvantage...]
[Had that Yukinoshita Yukino already run off?]
[Heh~]
[With guts that small, and still dreaming of becoming an Ally of Justice.]
[She scoffed coldly in her heart, full of disdain.]
[The atmosphere fell quiet. Cu Chulainn rested his spear on the ground and smiled casually.]
["Archer, I still don't get why you tried to kill Saber's Master."]
["If you two allied, you'd have a good shot at winning the Holy Grail War. You were summoned here, so you must have a strong wish—why throw away the Holy Grail like that?"]
"Yeah, why though?"
Cu Chulainn voiced the question on everyone's mind—everyone scratched their heads, curious to hear the answer.
...
["..."]
[The white-haired female Heroic Spirit fell silent, a complicated look flashing in her eyes.]
[Then she smiled faintly: "I just couldn't stand her attitude. Listening to her naive ideals made me want to kill her. Isn't that normal?"]
["I see."]
[Cu Chulainn's smile vanished. "Guess I was the fool for asking you that."]
[Swish~]
[The sharp cursed spear was raised, pointing directly at Archer, his smile now cold. He spoke calmly: "Your sword lacks the decisive glory."]
["Tch, I don't have that kind of glory anyway... But so what? Does it tarnish a hero's name? Hmph~."]
[Archer's smile carried a hint of mockery. Her beautiful face, for some reason, radiated a sorrow so deep it pierced the heart.]
[Like someone pitiful who had walked the darkest road to its end, with no way back.]
[She chuckled softly: "Don't be ridiculous, Lancer. A tarnished name can be washed clean with achievements, but that extra pride? Better to feed it to the dogs."]
["...Did you just say 'dog', Archer?"]
[The blue-clad Lancer's face immediately turned cold.]
["I'm just stating facts, Cu Chulainn."]
[She said flatly, revealing the Lancer's True Name without hesitation. "If you're still clinging to something like heroic glory, you'd better throw it away now."]
["——Well said!"]
[Cú Chulainn's pupils turned icy cold, his entire body emanating a furious murderous aura.]
[The opponent already knew his True Name, so she must also know the legend — that he once swore never to eat dog meat — and yet she told him to feed his glory to dogs... was she deliberately trying to enrage him?]
(Note: Out of curiosity, I searched the wiki [One of Ireland's mythological heroes, Cú Chulainn, had two geasa, or vows, one of which was to avoid the meat of dogs and the other was not to refuse an offer of hospitality. In the myth of his death, the breaking of this geis after being offered a meal of dog flesh removed his invulnerability, allowing him to be killed in battle the next day.])
[Very well, Archer, you've found the path to your own death.]
"She really is dancing in a minefield..."
The famous Diva Luo Tianyi twitched at the corner of her mouth, unable to stop herself from taking a few puffs of her electronic cigarette to calm down.
"Archer's mouth is so sharp, it's like a Noble Phantasm specialized in provoking Wan-chan..."
Another Diva, Hatsune Miku, rubbed her temples in frustration, looking rather pessimistic about Archer's fate.
She really liked this female Servant, but unfortunately, it seemed like she was about to witness her exit from the stage.
...
A harmony of countless instruments began to emerge, the BGM gaining rhythm, boiling over with a passion that made blood surge.
Rustle~
In the scene, the tree leaves trembled and rustled, as if they were shaking uncontrollably under the howling storm.
["You've already seen the power of my spear, haven't you, Archer."]
[Cu Chulainn laughed arrogantly, surging magical energy flooding into the blood-red crimson spear.]
[The blood-red light shattered the nine heavens, its frenzied aura terrifying, dispersing dark clouds for tens of miles in an instant, turning them into raindrops that pattered down.]
[That terrifying might left people stunned and breathless, the pressure spreading like a suffocating wave.]
[Yes——]
[It was the killer technique the Child of Light had once used in battle against the mighty Heracles, piercing through both the Armor of Fafnir and God Hand.]
[Barbed Spear That Pierces with Death——Gae Bolg!]
[The white-haired female Archer didn't seem to care, smiling calmly: "Of course, a curse is just a little trick of reversing causality... although terrifying, it's not much if it doesn't pierce the heart..."]
[To a nimble and alert Archer, Gae Bolg was just a joke.]
[At the very moment before it was launched, she could easily sense it and move out of its range. After all, this Noble Phantasm required a brief charging time—leaving openings was natural.]
[No, to Servants like Caster, Assassin, and Berserker——]
[Gae Bolg was indeed a one-hit certain-kill move, unimaginably dangerous.]
[What was called an opening, was only seen as such in the eyes of Archer who understood it.]
["If it's that one, then even you would be tempted."]
[Cu Chulainn smirked faintly, making a symbolic throwing motion.]
["..."]
[Archer frowned heavily—so he planned to use that Noble Phantasm, huh?]
[At the edge of the city, she had seen the blood-red beam shoot into the sky. If it was that Noble Phantasm, though it sacrificed its causality-reversing certainty, its power clearly surged.]
["Come at me——!!"]
["This strike, consider it a farewell gift to send you off to the Land of Shadows!"]
[Cu Chulainn's eyes brimmed with pride, laughing wildly with a hint of madness. He suddenly leapt hundreds of meters into the air, cursed spear in hand whirling with a storm, its bloody light instantly dyeing the sky red, as if overturning heaven and earth, tearing apart the boundary between day and night.]
[Storms surged, heaven and earth changed color—even gods and ghosts would shudder!]
["Gae Bolg: Soaring Spear That Strikes with Death!!"]
[With a roar that shattered the clouds, the cursed spear that reversed causality shot downward.]
[A beam of blinding blood-red light split into two, two into four, four into eight...]
[An overwhelmingly shocking spectacle, an explosion of sheer awe and dread!]
[Countless spears of gleaming crimson rained from the sky, without end in sight!]
[Like a bloody waterfall crashing down upon the world, pouring from three thousand meters high, they twisted and spiraled together, transforming into a blood-crimson dragon roaring downward.]
[Even those at the far end of the city could see the tremulous glow.]
["I am the bone of my sword..."]
["——Rho Aias: The Seven Rings that Cover the Burning Heavens!!"]
[Archer's pupils contracted sharply. She suddenly raised her right hand, where mystical legal principles intertwined.]
[In the battlefield shrouded in darkness, as if devoid of all light, a radiant crimson glow burst forth—her palm igniting with mana, projecting seven petals, each soaring as high as a skyscraper, exuding a divine and mysterious aura.]
[It was as if this wasn't a shield, but the seven petals of the World Tree from myth.]
[In the blink of an eye, the blood-stained crimson dragon came roaring, fiercely crashing into the layered pink petals.]
["BOOM BOOM BOOM...!!"]
[The thunderous explosions were like the Big Bang of the universe itself, the towering pink petals shattered one after another.]
["Even the shield of Aias the Great can't withstand it...?"]
[She poured every ounce of strength into maintaining the final petal, gritting her teeth to endure.]
[At last, just before the remaining power of Gae Bolg depleted, it managed to pierce through all seven layers of Rho Aias, and a terrifying vortex explosion burst forth.]
[The dark crimson shadow spread endlessly, instantly covering a district of over ten kilometers, swallowing everything into ruins!]
[When the energy was finally exhausted, the battlefield was still in a chaotic and unpredictable state.]
["Fwoosh~."]
[The ground was riddled with countless craters, the surrounding skyscrapers reduced to shattered walls and broken rubble. Cu Chulainn stood in place, frowning as he withdrew Gae Bolg.]
[Amid the mist, he could still sense Archer's aura as intense as ever.]
[To withstand Gae Bolg at such close range and still be alive—Archer was still alive?!]
["Unbelievable. To think a spear could pierce Rho Aias… This spear has clearly surpassed its original form: 『Gungnir: Declaration of the Great God』."]
[A carefree yet sorrow-tinged laugh echoed out.]
[Cu Chulainn furrowed his brows and looked into the dense mist amidst the ruins. "What the hell are you… Huh, it's you!?"]
[The blue Lancer's pupils shrank violently, a wave of unmatched dread washing over his entire body.]
[As the smoke cleared, a white-haired female Heroic Spirit smiled somewhat casually. One arm was cradling a blood-soaked broken limb, blood trickling from her forehead, and her once-high ponytail had somehow come undone, cascading over her shoulders.]
[Then she emerged—]
[A face of peerless beauty, a figure so familiar it left people stunned.]
Earth.
Countless people gasped in disbelief:
"Yukinoshita Yukino?!"
Others were struck with utter horror: "Why is it her? How could Archer be her?!"
"…A Modern Heroic Spirit?!"
Countless onlookers were shaken, their scalps tingling, nearly driven mad as they cried out in unison.
This scene was:
Unfathomable,
Unimaginable,
Utterly unacceptable!
Such a reality drove people into panic and madness—yet it was irrefutable.
Even Hawking was left speechless, his body trembling violently.
To go back in time and kill one's younger self, in order to prevent a disastrous future—
What kind of madness could conceive of such an idea?
A lunatic!
This was nothing short of an unfathomable lunatic beyond reason!