Chapter 19: Caster and Saber

(3rd's pov)

It was time for round 2 against Caster, so the group gathered once again under the bridge where they'll teleport to the mirror world.

"How are you even able to know when to come? We can't communicate at all." Rin questioned Archer.

"Who knows..." Archer answered, not answering at all. He wasn't really in the mood to tease Rin tonight... That's a lie. He was always in the mood for that, but Shirou was worried. This battle was very essential for the story and, at the same time, his future. That's why he was unusually focused at the moment, and the girls noticed it.

"Are you nervous, Archer-san?" Illya asked. She wondered if even someone as strong as he gets anxious.

"No, I'm not nervous. I just have some things on my mind." He answered Illya, and immediately after, he addressed the whole group. "Let's not waste any more time. Just like the last time, I'll support you if you need help. I'll adapt to any plan you make."

Rin and Luvia went over the plan, which was simplified to Illya being the distraction and Miyu being the attacker. A more complicated plan would only confuse little fighters.

---

As soon as the group appeared in the mirror world, where Caster was already preparing her spells, Illya and Miyu leaped into the sky.

Miyu, although not able to fly the same way as Illya, was using magical energy in the air to use as a foothold. Although young, her imagination wasn't as vast as Illya's, and she couldn't comprehend how human beings could fly... even after watching the Magical Girls show with Illya.

In no time, both girls flew above magic circles prepared by Caster and started executing their plan.

Illya barraged Caster with her attacks, and the latter was forced to defend herself using a barrier. Miyu used this chance to approach their enemy and was ready to include a Lancer card to use Gae Bolg to finish the fight quickly.

Unfortunately, no one except for Shirou expected Caster to teleport right behind Miyu. It happened so suddenly that Miyu couldn't react to the attack of Caster.

"Trace... on."

Before Caster's staff made contact with Miyu and doing considerable damage to the girl, an arrow flew at her, forcing the enemy to dodge before finishing her attack.

Archer defended Miyu using his trusted bow and a lesser noble Phantasm to scare off the attacker. This action, however, earned Caster's attention, and she fired a barrage of spells at him, and since he was near Rin and Luvia, they were also in the range of her attacks.

Seeing all red lasers indicating Caster's aim, Rin and Luvia were ready to run, but Shirou smirked under his mask.

Before the spells hit their targets, they were all shot down by Archer, living up to his fake name.

Rin and Luvia were left dumbfounded by his display of power and accuracy, but it wasn't time to question his humanity. Illya and Miyu used this chance to restart their assault at Caster.

Illya used a widespread shot to limit Caster's ability to teleport. Even if it would halt their enemy for a moment, they needed that moment.

Miyu used her most powerful shot bringing Caster down and destroying her staff. It wasn't enough to kill her though, and it was needed to deliver the final blow.

Rin and Luvia were ready for that and threw some of their gems at Caster. Their combined mage craft created a big explosion obstructing the view.

All of the magic circles that were visible in the sky started disappearing, signifying Caster's death.

Ruby shot fireworks in the air to celebrate a victory that no one except herself appreciated.

Everyone's guard was down, so no one was ready for Caster, who somehow was able to teleport away from Rin and Luvia's combined attack and was preparing her last attack that would destroy anything in its path.

Before anyone attempted to do anything to defend themselves, something flew at Caster piercing her heart and killing her in the process.

Archer never let his guard down and was ready to finish off Caster.

"Never let your guard down unless you are absolutely sure that your enemy is dead. Otherwise, you risk getting injured or even killed." Shirou gave advice to the girls, but strangely enough, he was talking as if from experience.

"Yeah... thank you Archer-San."

"Thank you..." Both Illya and Miyu were feeling a bit ashamed for allowing this to happen, and the same could be said about Rin and Luvia.

The older girls shuddered at the thought of what would happen if Archer wasn't with them. The last attack of Caster would have been devastating, and even the Kaleidosticks at full power couldn't fully block it.

Shirou's heart stung a bit, seeing Illya and Miyu's reaction to his advice. That's why he walked up to them and put his hands on their heads.

"There's no need to feel sad. I'm here for situations like these, after all. You can take your time and learn at your own pace."

Both of the girls closed their eyes in bliss. They fell for the pleasure of headpats.

It needed to be cut short though, as Archer suddenly rushed towards Rin and Luvia startling them in the process.

"H-hey, what are you!!?-"

"Trace... on!"

It didn't help that Shirou projected a pair of twin swords. As soon as he got close enough to them, he pushed them away at high speed only to block a strike from the new enemy.

Said enemy was a blonde woman clad in black armor and had her eyes covered, although she behaved as if she could see normally.

Saber... also known as Artoria Pendragon, aka King Arthur.

This battle will be the biggest challenge for Shirou so far, and sadly they won't be getting easier anytime soon.

Shirou could feel that he was outmatched in the strength department, so he needed to fight smart.

Shirou swung the blade in his right hand at Saber's neck while blocking her sword with the blade in his other hand.

Saber freed one of her arms and blocked Kanshou without any effort. Before Shirou could even react, he tilted his head just to see that the black sword was where his head previously was. Saber was able to thrust her sword at Archer because he was simply weaker than her and wasn't able to stop her with just one arm, even if she also used one.

Seeing that he couldn't win like that, Shirou decided to change his tactic and reinforced his legs to their limit and a bit more to kick Saber and put some distance between them. Without losing his moment, he threw Kanshou and Bakuya at Saber, knowing that they'll be deflected with ease.
Using this short amount of time that he bought, or rather his enemy, allowed it to happen, Shirou projected a weapon he became very familiar with in the last few years.

In his hand appeared a red spear very familiar to both Miyu and Luvia. Their eyes would pop out if it was physically possible.

"Miyu, are you still in possession of the Lancer card that I gave you?"

Miyu, without saying a word, reached for the said card, and when it was finally in her hand in front of her eyes, she couldn't believe it because the same weapon that would appear after using [Include] with this card was currently in Archer's hands who was fighting using the red spear against the enemy.

Although he was clearly at a disadvantage, he wasn't losing outright. Archer aimed at Saber's heart as that is where the spirit core resided, and when it's destroyed, the servant dies.

Saber using her instinct and battle experience dodged it but still was impaled in the shoulder. She didn't do just that as while the red spear was getting closer, Saber was attempting to slash Archer as well, and she succeeded as her sword started digging into Shirou's shoulder, cutting his arm in the process.

It was the first time Shirou got an injury of this caliber. Losing an arm isn't something one would experience more than twice in their life, so no one would get a chance to get used to this feeling, but Shirou... he wasn't fazed by it. By no means it meant that he didn't feel pain. Opposite, in fact. It hurt like hell, but his mind was clear, and even as he lost his arm, he was able to act without any delay. He even used this chance to create some distance between him and Saber.

"Archer-san!" Illya screamed, seeing how one of her companions was injured to this extent.

"Archer, fall back! Illya, buy some time until we stabilize Archer's injury. Be ready to retreat at any moment." Rin quickly gave an order to Illya, who flinched. Luvia, at the same time as Rin, said almost the exact same words to Miyu.

Miyu was ready to step in, and although nervous, she would assist Archer to the best of her abilities while Illya was hesitating. Seeing the gore... an arm being chopped off... lots of blood dripping on the ground...

'Was this supposed to be this scary?'

"Illya!!! Focus."

Illya was brought back to reality by Rin's voice. Before she could say anything, Archer butted in.

"You don't need to worry. It's just a flesh wound."

"A flesh wound!? Your arm is g-!"

Rin wanted to rebuke him, thinking that he was trying to play tough, but moments later, they witnessed his arm starting to regrow, and soon Archer flexed his new arm. Throughout the whole process, his eyes didn't leave Saber.

Something was wrong, and Shirou knew that. Saber felt stronger and faster than she should be. Not to mention that Avalon was reacting to her, to its rightful owner.

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Shirou needed to adjust his tactic. Strangely enough, Saber let him take a short break, but not seeing her whole face is not allowing Shirou to know what she is thinking about or if she thinks at all. She should be moving and fighting by instincts alone, like an enraged animal, but during the exchange earlier, Shirou could feel that her movements were... human, and he didn't like it in the slightest. That's why he decided to test something.

He rushed at Saber as he projected Byakuya and Kanshou once again. While they wouldn't be able to pierce Saber's armor without a modification, they are still Shirou's preferable weapon as they are easy to use and don't cost a lot of Prana to produce.

The blades met each other, and without reinforcing, Shirou's swords would break in front of the might of the Sword of Promised Victory.

"Saber?" Shirou called his enemy with a gentle tone, at which she flinched slightly, and the strength decreased by a small amount. He knew, however, that it probably wouldn't work a second time, but using it in more 'needed' situations would be too risky without knowing that it'll work.

This interaction confirmed something for Shirou. Saber recognized him, and that meant that she still had her ego. It doesn't change that he needs to defeat her, but his plans change in other areas. First, though, he needs a plan to defeat Saber.

They exchanged a few blows; the last swing was a big overhead swing with blades pointing downwards. Shirou wouldn't be able to overpower Saber like that, but he had a small trick up his sleeves.

Shirou altered Kanshou and Bakuya, and the result of it was two blades in his hands growing longer and bigger until they pierced both of Saber's shoulders. Although it should be enough for her to drop her sword because of injuries, she wasn't so weak to let go of her sword because of something as trivial as pain and wounds. She kicked Shirou away, and he was able to land on his feet with some trouble and pain in his stomach because of the kick.

Archer didn't have time to dwell on his minor injury that had already started healing as Saber was preparing her Noble Phantasm. Shirou quickly checked back behind him, and all the girls were standing there. There wasn't enough time to dodge.

"Prepare barriers at maximum power!!!" Archer yelled as he was preparing for an impact.

"I'm the bone of my sword... Rho Aias!"

As Shirou recited the first verse, he summoned his greatest defense. Rho Aias, a shield in a form of a seven-petal flower with seven layers, each equivalent to the defense power of a fortress wall. To project a shield, it takes three times more prana to do so for Shirou, and to keep the shield activated, it's necessary to provide a constant flow of magical energy.

"Ex... calibur!!!"

Saber's attack slammed into the shield, destroying the first layer instantly, and the second and third didn't put that much of a fight either.

Shirou's exposed arm started getting dark spots, and his hair started getting white.

Forth layer broke, and Shirou was struggling.

Using his free hand, he bit his finger and drew Sowilo and Algiz runes, which are runes of strength and defense, respectively, and sent them to Rho Aias, strengthening the shield.

The fifth layer broke.

Archer was putting all of his energy into the shield, but six layers broke as well, leaving the last line of defense.

It was a battle between the strongest shield known to Shirou and the strongest sword known to Shirou, and the winner seemed obvious.

At this point, most of his right hand was dark, and the amount of his white hair increased.

Shirou checked behind him to check on the girls, only to see that Miyu wasn't seen anywhere near.

"Gae... Bolg."

Out of nowhere, Miyu appeared behind Saber with Gae Bolg and attacked her, but even that wasn't enough as using her instinct together with her great luck, she was able to dodge an undodgeable attack. Not entirely, but it was enough to start the counterattack on Miyu, who wasn't able to fully defend herself from Saber's slash and was sent flying and slammed into a tree.

Archer was already on the move sprinting to Saber to get her attention from Miyu. He projected Kanshou and Bakuya and threw them at Saber, but he wasn't aiming at her. The blades missed her and flew past her, only for them to do a U-turn because Shirou projected yet another par. Projecting and using Gae Bolg wasn't an option at the moment as it would take a too long time to use it, and using a bow was too risky as he wasn't sure if it would be enough to get her attention unless he used more powerful weapons and since she was close to Miyu he needed to be careful.

The battle continued.

(Illya's pov)

What is happening...

It shouldn't be like that...

Miyu is hurt and was almost killed...

Archer was hurt because he protected us...

But... no matter what we'll do, we can't win against this enemy...

It's hopeless...

Then everything went dark.

(3rd's pov)

As the fight was escalating and the situation was exacerbated, something was happening to Illya. For some reason, she started gushing a vast amount of mana.

"I-Illya!?"

Rin and Luvia didn't know what was happening. Illya wasn't supposed to be a magus, so how could she produce this much mana? No, a better question is, how is it possible for a single human to possess this much mana?

"Defeat it..."

The storm of mana stopped, and Illya seemed to enter some kind of trance.

"Defeat it... defeat it... defeat it... defeat it...  Destroy it..."

Illya's eyes changed their color from red to golden with red outlines.

"How...? Means...? Method...? Power...? If it's power... It's right here."

Illya took the Archer card that was entrusted to her and slammed it on the ground creating a magic circle in the process.

"Install!"

Illya transformed her magical girl clothes into entirely different attire, somehow similar to Archer's, and that didn't go unnoticed. She also acquired a bow identical to the one Archer used before, although it was smaller to suit Illya's more petite frame.

Without any shred of emotion, Illya projected 3 arrows and shot them at Saber, who was fighting against Shirou at the moment, but she wouldn't be called the King of the Knights if fighting just one enemy would be enough to distract her from her surroundings.

She deflected projectiles with ease despite her injuries and was defending against Shirou's onslaught of attacks simultaneously. She was a monster in every meaning of that word.

Seeing that it wasn't working, Illya went into short-range combat after summoning her pair of Kanshou and Bakuya.

Without saying anything, Archer and Illya were able to fight together without being in each other's way.

Slowly but surely, they were getting an advantage, and victory was getting closer, but the King of Knights wouldn't let herself lose without a fight.

Saber was preparing to fire off her Noble Phantasm again, but Shirou wouldn't let her do it. Its power was too much. He grabbed her from behind, trying to restrict her movements. Of course, he was weaker than Saber, but reinforcement together with some runes to strengthen his body. Even with all that, he could stop her just for a few moments, but that's all they needed.

"Illya, now!"

Shirou gave a signal to Illya to stab Saber together with him. Not like he would die even if his heart was pierced.

"Trace... on."

Without a hint of hesitation, she projected a sword similar to Excalibur and rushed at her enemy and piercing her through her stomach and not sparing Archer in the end.

Finishing her job, Illya fainted and transformed back into her normal clothes.

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END

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