Fate: Question And Answer System of Traversing Heroic Spirits

Amakusa Shirou: "Impossible..."

He hadn't expected that the Holy Grail couldn't directly grant his wish.

Kayneth: "How is that possible? Isn't the Holy Grail supposed to be an omnipotent wish-granting device?"

Semiramis: "Omnipotent? Ridiculous. There's no such thing as true omnipotence in this world."

[Semiramis originally intended to shoot down the plane carrying Fiore and the others. However, there were more than ten identical planes in total, and the magical signatures were vague, making it impossible to pinpoint the correct target.]

[Yet, Chiron, Astolfo, and Jeanne each stood atop a different plane, seemingly unconcerned about the detection efforts.]

Semiramis: "Hmph. Resorting to random scatter tactics? Utterly foolish… but admittedly troublesome."

[The ten planes were flying in tight formation. Even if one were shot down, they could quickly leap to another.]

Waver: "Ten planes? That's quite the extravagant maneuver."

Chihiro: "Compared to your teacher's preparations for the Fourth Holy Grail War, this is nothing."

Kayneth: "Hmph."

[Jeanne: "Amakusa Shirou Tokisada!"]

[Semiramis: "Why are you shouting? How unsightly. My Master is busy using the Holy Grail to enact 'Human Salvation.' If you hurry, you might still catch him."]

[Jeanne: "Does he truly wish to save humanity?"]

[Semiramis: "Who knows? And frankly, I don't care. If you want to stop him, go ahead and chase him. But first, you'll have to get past the Red Servants."]

[From the Hanging Garden of Babylon, a three-horse chariot surged forward. It was Achilles.]

["All right, Chiron-sensei! The time we agreed upon has arrived. Let's enjoy ourselves!" ]

[Achilles grinned as his chariot tore through the air toward Chiron.]

[The plane beneath Chiron's feet shattered into pieces. Achilles opened his mouth to make a taunt but froze, sensing a chill at the back of his neck. He twisted his body just in time to catch an arrow between his teeth.]

[As expected of Chiron, a masterful mid-air shot with an impossible curved trajectory.]

[With no moonlight tonight, Achilles hadn't seen the arrow at all. He'd only detected it through the faint disturbance in magic and airflow.]

Achilles: "As expected of Mr. Chiron. You can counterattack with such precision even in these unfavorable conditions."

Chiron: "It seems this will be the final battle between us."

Achilles: "Teacher, I won't lose."

Chiron: "You're speaking too soon."

[Achilles bit down, crushing the arrow, then surged forward again, smashing another plane in his charge.]

[Chiron didn't retreat. He sidestepped the attack and responded with another volley of arrows.]

[In that brief exchange of movement, charging, dodging, shooting, and smashing, time seemed suspended.]

[Within mere minutes, six planes were reduced to wreckage amid their intense duel.]

[Meanwhile, Semiramis hurled dark magic toward Jeanne. The Ruler raised her Holy Banner just in time to block the onslaught.]

["Ruler, take this. I'll make sure the bears feast on your remains."]

[At that moment, Atalanta appeared, her arms pitch-black and her eyes glowing red. From a vantage point above, she drew her bow and unleashed a relentless volley of arrows toward Jeanne.]

[Jeanne gritted her teeth and raised her holy banner with all her strength to defend herself. But Atalanta, like a maddened beast, paid no mind to her rapidly draining magical energy, firing arrow after arrow without pause.]

["Ruler, I'm going to kill you!!!"]

Tohsaka Rin: "Atalanta? How did she end up like this?"

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "It seems she's been completely consumed by rage."

Achilles: "Ah… big sister, you…"

Atalanta: "..."

["All right, Chiron-sensei, you're cornered now!"]

[Achilles drove his chariot straight toward Chiron, convinced of his imminent victory. Yet, he failed to notice the utter calm on Chiron's face.]

["No matter how fast you are, Achilles, you still have a fatal weakness. Timing, trajectory, and speed, these three elements determine everything."]

[Chiron understood the velocity of the arrow, the chariot's motion, and precisely where Achilles would move. Years of relentless training and experience had honed his predictive capabilities to near-perfection.]

[This was Chiron's 'future vision' an advanced combat technique refined through relentless practice and precise calculations that could anticipate movements before they occurred.]

["What...?!"]

[The arrow struck Achilles's shoulder, piercing through flesh and embedding into bone. Achilles was momentarily stunned.]

[It wasn't that he failed to dodge; it was as though, no matter how he moved, Chiron's arrow was already waiting for him. He hadn't run away from the arrow, he'd run directly into it.]

Waver: "So it's essentially predicting the opponent's movements and firing ahead of time."

Red Hare: "Predict, then strike. Simple."

Iskandar: "As expected from a master who mentored countless legendary heroes. What precision and instinct!"

Achilles: "Damn, Teacher… I never expected you had such a skill hidden up your sleeve."

Chiron: "That's because you still have much to learn."

[Achilles yanked the arrow out with a pained grunt, but Chiron was already nocking his next shot. The arrow flew and struck Pedasos, the ordinary horse among the trio pulling the chariot.]

[Unlike Xanthos and Balius—divine horses gifted with immortality—Pedasos was just a mortal steed and collapsed in an instant.]

["You can't control a chariot anymore, Achilles. But even without it, you're still a formidable warrior."]

[Recalling past battles, Achilles gave a sharp command: "Xanthos, Balius, retreat now!"]

["A wise decision, my lord," Xanthos replied, his voice deep and solemn. "If you continued driving the chariot, you would have met the same fate as before."]

[Xanthos, gifted with speech by a goddess, could converse like a human.]

["Hmph. So, was my decision the right one?"]

["Who knows? I can only tell you one thing: if you persist, you'll die."]

[The horse's blunt words matched its personality, a creature with zero tact.]

[The chariot vanished as the divine horses retreated. Achilles landed atop the wreckage of a plane, ready to fight Chiron on equal ground.]

Tohsaka Rin: "Wait… your horse can talk?!"

Red Hare: "What's so strange about that?"

Tohsaka Rin: "…"

Achilles: "If only it couldn't talk. See? It kills conversations faster than arrows kill enemies."

[Meanwhile, Astolfo had already reached the Hanging Garden of Babylon.]

["All right, Master! Let's go!"]

[Perched atop his Hippogriff, with Sieg seated behind him, Astolfo declared loudly: "Astolfo, one of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne, has arrived! Prepare to face me!"]

[Semiramis wasn't about to let them advance so easily. She immediately activated her magic circles.]

[But what happened next left her speechless.]

["The time has come! Though my heart trembles beneath a moonless sky, I shall never falter!"]

["Noble Phantasm release—"Casseur de Logistille: Destruction Declaration"!" ]

[Astolfo raised an ancient tome high. Its pages scattered into the wind, forming a shimmering barrier that nullified the incoming barrage.]

[The anti-army magical shells disintegrated upon contact. Astolfo, untouched, surged forward.]

[This was the Noble Phantasm Astolfo could never remember the name of, a mystical tome he always referred to as his "Magic Strategy Guide."]

[Crafted by the witch Logistilla, the book contained counterspells capable of dismantling even the most potent magical phenomena.]

Semiramis: "You… neutralized the attack'?"

Semiramis's eyes narrowed in disbelief. This was an anti-army Noble Phantasm designed to overwhelm even the most stalwart defenses, yet Astolfo had nullified it with ease.

Astolfo: "Casseur de Logistille? Oh! That's what it's called! Hahaha, I finally remembered it!"

Gordes: "You're telling me you forgot the name of a Noble Phantasm that powerful? Know your limits."

Astolfo: "Hey! I remembered it eventually, didn't I?"

Waver: "The Casseur de Logistille' is a legendary artifact said to neutralize all forms of magecraft…"

[Semiramis's gaze darkened. "I see. So you had that hidden up your sleeve."]

["Lancer," she commanded softly. "Eliminate them."]

["Understood."]

[Karna moved forward, his presence like a burning star against the night sky.]

[The next moment, he thrust his spear. A crimson arc sliced through the air.]

[Astolfo and his Hippogriff were cleaved in half.]

[But Karna's expression shifted slightly, his eyes narrowing in confusion.]

[The figures he'd just struck… vanished.]

["Dimensional shift?" Karna muttered.]

["Correct! We're not even here right now!" Astolfo's voice echoed from behind.]

[Karna spun around and charged, but Astolfo's image blurred once again.]

[This was the true nature of Astolfo's mount Hippogriff: Otherworldly Phantom Steed, a Noble Phantasm that allowed its rider to step into the 'backside of the world,' where mortal senses and attacks couldn't reach.]

[Sieg, clutching Astolfo's waist tightly, was momentarily breathless.]

[For just an instant, he'd seen it, that elusive realm where mythical creatures dwelled. The primal world hidden behind the veil of reality.]

Gordes: "This idiot…"

Only now did everyone watching realize the truth: Astolfo might act like a fool, but his Noble Phantasms were terrifying.

The "La Black Luna" could scatter entire armies. The "Casseur de Logistille" could block nearly all magic. The mysterious "Trap of Argalia" could immobilize Servants on contact. And now, the "Hippogriff" allowed for dimensional evasion.

If Astolfo ever learned how to utilize all of these abilities properly… he'd be unstoppable.

Instead, here he was, laughing as though he'd just won a carnival game.

***

Just completed one of the ffs I'm working on, and I want to pick another one.

Is there a fic you saw on MTL that was good but so horrible that you can't read it? Or maybe one you enjoyed reading that was dropped? Comment them (with the raw title or link); I'll check them out.

Please don't recommend brain rot, I'm already suffering enough with some of the fics I'm working on xD.