Elza Saijo.
The Master of Archer in the Holy Grail War. She participated in the Holy Grail War with a wish similar to that of a hero.
As a mother who lost her adopted child, she wished for a world where all mothers and children could be happy, and with that heart, she joined the Holy Grail War.
What she summoned was Arash, the great hero of Persian mythology who ended a 60-year war by sacrificing himself. The legendary archer who burned his own body to split the earth. The hero who concluded Persia's Age of Gods.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!!!
His skill was at an absurd level. Even a pure arrow could shave off part of a mountain, and each shot had the power of an A-rank anti-personnel Noble Phantasm, capable of piercing through walls that could block most anti-army Noble Phantasms.
His minimum range was 20 km. The entire Tokyo area was within his range. He could fire 50 A-rank arrows at once, and with a maximum of 10,000 arrows in rapid succession, creating a steel downpour, he demonstrated the might of a Noble Phantasm with pure skill, making it hard to believe he was a 20-year-old youth.
Clang!!!
"It's tough even to deflect...!"
Facing him was the first Valkyrie (war maiden). Brynhildr, the daughter of Odin, the highest god of Norse mythology. Among the Valkyries, her power was the strongest, and she was said to be equal to Sigurd, the greatest hero of the North. Even though she was downgraded from a divine spirit to a heroic spirit, her skill in wielding a super-heavy spear and engaging in high-speed combat had not diminished.
Under the orders of her master, Nigel Sayword, she had to engage in battle with every servant at least once, and she targeted Archer for this. But Archer was a great hero who reached the pinnacle of a mythology. Although he was relatively young for a hero... he was a man with skills ranking among the top even among Archers.
Arash, who was relatively weaker in close combat, kept his distance and did not give Brynhildr a chance to engage in melee. He kept as far away as possible, pressuring Brynhildr with a fearsome rate of fire.
Brynhildr, who had not yet fought anyone except Berserker, could not determine if Arash was truly the strongest enemy in this Holy Grail War, and she wondered whether to use her trump card, the Love Potion.
At that moment... a golden beast intervened between them.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
"A beast!?"
"What is that?"
The golden beast leaped at Brynhildr. Then, flying beasts also came at Arash from the sky.
Swoosh!
"Kuh!"
Not simple beasts, but monsters. The beasts displayed a strength reminiscent of divine beasts, making Brynhildr and Arash unable to relax. They judged that if they let their guard down for even 0.1 seconds, their spiritual cores would be shattered and they would die. Even though both had formidable defensive power befitting great heroes...
For some reason, these beasts were monsters with specifications comparable to divine beasts.
Slash!!!
Arash's rapid fire and Brynhildr's spear succeeded in killing the beasts...
"Is this a Noble Phantasm?"
"Even in Norse mythology, there weren't beasts this strong swarming around..."
Then, dozens of golden beasts revealed themselves before the two.
"I apologize for this. Since I'm not in good condition, I hope you'll forgive me for using my children."
A woman speaking from the rooftop of a building, looking down at them.
Standing on the rooftop was Medusa. She had used her Noble Phantasm, the golden sword Chrysaor, which is also her child, to summon numerous beasts.
Chrysaor.
One of the twin sons born from Medusa's blood, said to be the father of Echidna, the mother of monsters, the father-in-law of Typhon who even judged Zeus, and the father of Ladon whom even Hercules could not defeat.
As the king and father of many Greek monsters, including the trials of Hercules, and the greatest parent, Medusa, the queen of monsters who wields the power of Chrysaor. Her sword and son, the golden sword, is a Noble Phantasm that summons the strongest monsters, each slash calling forth top-tier beings like Echidna and Cerberus, rivals to divine beasts.
Its power, operating as an A-rank anti-army Noble Phantasm, was precisely what proved why she was half-goddess. The reason even gods feared her was because of this potential.
Each beast was a monster capable of tearing apart a servant. They were the monsters that mercilessly killed many warriors who might have become heroes in Greece.
"That's... Mystic Eyes... the golden sword... Could it be?"
Brynhildr, being a Valkyrie, immediately discerned her identity. The Norse Age of Gods ended around 1000 BC. Greek mythology was from an earlier era. The name Gorgon was known even in the North as the most fearsome monster, so she couldn't not know.
Arash guarded against her while drawing his bowstring... but he saw that her legs were trembling.
"If I had stepped in myself, it wouldn't have been easy... You're lucky."
Arash wondered if it was a bluff... but in reality, it was because she still had aftereffects from a night of frenzy.
'Master, it seems those beasts can't be maintained for long.'
'Really?'
Arash's judgment was correct. Since it's a Noble Phantasm that turns slashes into beasts, the duration isn't that long. Moreover, it consumes a lot of mana... but with Manaka as her master, mana wasn't a problem. The only weakness was the limited duration of the Noble Phantasm.
Due to the beasts, Brynhildr also found it difficult to move first. Arash, specialized in long-range, moved first and shot arrows.
At that time, beasts blocked his arrows. While Arash was distracted by the beasts, Brynhildr quickly flew through the sky and thrust her spear at her, but a shower of daggers flew at her.
Clang clang clang!
A level of power easy for her to deflect. Brynhildr checked the servant who ambushed her.
"As expected, lacking in power."
"Assassin..."
The one who ambushed her was Hassan of the Hundred Faces. Failing in the ambush, Hundred Faces landed beside Medusa and drew new daggers.
"With that power, you still formed an alliance?"
Brynhildr asked why, with Medusa alone having such a powerful Noble Phantasm, she would even borrow Assassin's power...
"Alliance? She's just my master's servant."
"Yes."
"... I see, so that's how it is."
Brynhildr immediately understood. She was sure that Assassin's original master had died and she had recontracted with Medusa's master, who seemed to be Saber. Already in the early stages, one team had more than one faction. Brynhildr thought this faction was the strongest and was about to take out the potion...
The black cloth armguard on Hundred Faces' right hand shone with a small red light.
"{Zabaniya} (Delusional Heartbeat)"
Swish!!!
Then, a long tentacle made of strings and blades appeared on her right arm, and the tentacle, formed into a hand, flew out, making Brynhildr hastily dodge. The hand that touched the beast behind her pierced a hole through the beast's body.
"A terrifying cursed strike."
"..."
Hundred Faces retracted her arm, and then the entire armguard glowed red.
Tap!
With full-speed movement, Hundred Faces rushed at Brynhildr. Brynhildr, unable to react to the speed, countered by thrusting her spear...
"{Zabaniya} (Delusional Heartbeat)"
Tok... Slash!
Hundred Faces quickly touched her chest with her hand, and at the same time, Brynhildr's spear pierced her side. Hundred Faces, as if accustomed to such pain, quickly jumped back and touched the wound with her left hand. Then, the rune engraved on the back of her left hand flashed, and her wound healed.
"That's... a rune? No, a primordial rune!?"
Brynhildr was astonished as she confirmed what kind of rune it was, and then a beating heart appeared in Hundred Faces' right hand.
"It's over."
Crunch!
"Kuh...!?"
Brynhildr felt a sharp pain in her chest and staggered... then realized that her heart (spiritual core) had been crushed.
"A curse... ugh."
Grr!
At that moment, a beast rushed in and bit Brynhildr's body. Thus, she was eliminated in an instant of carelessness. Perhaps... it was a relatively better end for her, and the Love Potion she was carrying fell to the ground, rolling in a puddle of blood.
Then, looking at Arash fighting the beasts on the ground, Hundred Faces touched the choker around her neck.
".... {Zaba (Delusional──"
"No, that's enough for today. One of the most troublesome servants is gone. If we look at Manaka, the servant to kill first is now one. We can go defeat that one tomorrow with Fergus."
"... Understood."
Medusa recalled the beasts and left the place with Hundred Faces. Arash shot an arrow at her, but unfortunately, it missed.
"This, I think we need to negotiate with Berserker? Master."
'First, come back...'
The Archer faction, judging the two to be the most dangerous, left the place.
And, Sajou.
"Hmm... Is this good?"
"Indeed, even Noble Phantasms can be replicated. The Delusional Heartbeat I gave to Hundred Faces for testing has been reproduced more perfectly, hasn't it?"
"Yes, I think this much is fine."
"The Root is convenient too. In the distant past, humanity blocked this, right? That's the true demon realm."
"Hehe... I did well, so kiss me."
"... Okay, good job, Manaka."
Smack♡
"Uhehehe...♡"
Manaka and Fergus were using the power of the Root to replicate Noble Phantasms.