It was nearing noon, and the scorching sun blazed overhead like a fiery orb, mercilessly roasting everything beneath it. Even the verdant grass bowed its proud head under the oppressive heat.
Wisps of white vapor steadily rose from the parched ground.
Under this blazing sun, a red-haired youth stood in the courtyard amidst the swirling steam, mechanically repeating the motions of drawing his bow and firing, again and again.
It was as if nothing in the outside world could disturb him.
One after another, magical arrows flew from his fingertips, piercing precisely into a distant tree nearly a hundred meters away—each arrow striking so accurately that it split the shaft of the previous one.
His other hand, gripping the bowstring, could hardly even be called a hand anymore. From his shoulder downward, blood continuously seeped from a clear line of separation, dripping slowly onto the earth below.
A keen observer would notice countless tiny threads penetrating deeply into his flesh at the point of division, firmly anchoring themselves within him.
To the right of this line was something resembling an armored prosthetic limb, encased entirely in metal plating.
Thunk—!
Another magical arrow was released, directly piercing through the previous arrow still suspended mid-flight.
His archery had already reached an almost transcendent level.
"How long has Emiya been out in the courtyard?"
Astolfo directed his question toward Archer, Saber, Berserker, and their Masters, Caules and Fiore, who had all been watching Emiya Shirou intently from within the shade of the castle.
After Shirou had awoken, Astolfo had immediately gone to Vlad III to request permission for a certain matter, leaving the castle a few hours ago to escort the homunculus safely to a small town near Trifas.
Although Vlad III wasn't entirely pleased, he'd considered that Astolfo had saved Emiya Shirou's life, and with Archer's support, granted permission.
In Vlad's judgment, Rider, Archer, and Emiya Shirou had become significantly more important than Caster. The golems Caster created were barely more than trivial nuisances to Servants as powerful as those of the Red Faction.
Moreover, Astolfo's Master had already informed Darnic that it would be difficult to restrain Rider using [Command Spells]. Vlad's decision had been swift.
Astolfo's Noble Phantasm, the [Luna Break Manual: Magical All-purpose Tome of Tactics], was a continuously active Noble Phantasm granting him A-Rank [Magic Resistance] merely by holding it. To forcibly command Astolfo would require at least two [Command Spells], not to mention his curse-like trait—his [Evaporation of Reason]—which rendered even [Command Spells] unreliable.
In other words, unless Astolfo himself consented, forcing him to act against his wishes was practically impossible.
Thus, Astolfo had departed from Yggdmillennia Castle with the homunculus, only returning to the castle after ensuring his safety. Immediately upon returning, he went to look for Emiya Shirou, who had mentioned earlier wanting to clear his mind by wandering around the castle.
That was when he found the group standing silently indoors, watching Emiya in the courtyard, along with several homunculi who had inexplicably stopped their tasks, gazing at Emiya's relentless archery practice.
"Since before you left, he's been standing there shooting without pause," Fiore answered Astolfo softly.
Originally, Fiore had intended to attend the council meeting between Vlad III, Astolfo, and her Servant. However, Astolfo's impulsive personality had him dragging Archer away before Fiore could even respond. Unable to keep pace with a Servant, she'd slowly maneuvered her wheelchair through the castle halls toward the conference chamber, eventually noticing Emiya Shirou standing in the courtyard, endlessly practicing his shots.
She'd wanted to call out to him but realized she'd never actually learned his name.
Having lost his Servant, Emiya Shirou posed little threat to Yggdmillennia, especially given yesterday's encounter with the Red Faction's Lancer, which had heightened their awareness of how precious their own combat resources were.
After all, Vlad III—with the territorial advantage—was among the very elite Servants, as was the legendary dragon-slaying hero, Siegfried.
Yet, under the combined assault of two top-tier Servants, the Red Faction's Lancer had skillfully maneuvered, suffering minimal injury despite countless strikes. Even after unleashing a surge of magical energy, he'd managed to reverse the situation and suppress the pair.
Considering Archer, Saber, and Lancer were Black's primary fighting force, it was alarming that Red's Karna could hold his ground so effortlessly. The cost of defeating him would undoubtedly be immense.
Furthermore, the enemy faction had another formidable Servant—Achilles, as well as Atalanta and Mordred, the famed knight who had killed the King of Knights himself.
Black's faction was beginning to doubt their strength. They had also lost control over their own Assassin.
Under such precarious circumstances, Yggdmillennia's attitude toward Emiya had softened considerably. Especially after hearing that Emiya could no longer sense his contract with the King of Knights, they found themselves oddly sympathetic.
After all, Emiya Shirou had demonstrated strength capable of fighting enemy Servants; they couldn't simply discard him now, abandoning their previous hostility.
"So you mean—1, 2, 3, 4! Four whole hours? He's been standing here practicing archery for four hours?!"
Astolfo counted on his fingers, looking astonished at Emiya Shirou, who mechanically drew his bow over and over under the blazing sun.
He hurriedly stepped forward, intending to drag Shirou out of the scorching heat, but Archer's hand stopped him, gripping his shoulder firmly.
"He's just a human! He was gravely wounded earlier! Staying this long under direct sunlight, he'll collapse from heatstroke!"
Agitated, Astolfo broke free from Archer's grasp and rushed toward the courtyard.
"No. Let me go instead."
Archer placed his hand on Astolfo's shoulder again, stopping him, before stepping outside into the harsh sunlight toward Emiya Shirou.
Yet Emiya showed no awareness of Archer's approach. He continued his ceaseless archery, entirely immersed in his task.
Even though blood had soaked through half his shoulder, he shot arrow after arrow, his expression utterly indifferent.
In his eyes existed nothing but the bow and arrow in his hands.
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T/N: so he got a prosthetic ayyy
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