A Core Ship From The Start Chapter 1129

Chapter 1129: Chapter 774: Ominous Stirring (Restarting 2077) Chapter 1129: Chapter 774: Ominous Stirring (Restarting 2077) For Rin Tohsaka, this was also a torturous night.

Sakura…

Her sister, who had been missing for eleven years, had finally reappeared before her. The only comfort for Rin was that, at least outwardly, Sakura seemed unharmed, and her reactions were normal. Although she wanted to prevent Rin from claiming victory in the Holy Grail War, she didn't display a reckless determination… All in all, it seemed Sakura had lived a reasonably good life over the years.

That somewhat relieved Rin. Whatever the case, at least Sakura's life didn't seem so cruel and painful, and she appeared to be doing relatively well. Of course, Rin knew this was just consoling herself, but it at least gave her some peace of mind. While she hoped to communicate with Sakura soon, another pressing issue loomed before her.

“ARCHER.”

After breakfast, Rin immediately summoned ARCHER and asked,
“You fought with a Servant last night, do you know what class they were?”

Faced with Rin's question, ARCHER's expression was subtly ambiguous.

“A class… probably ASSASSIN?”

“ASSASSIN? Why 'probably'?”

“Because, before attacking me, the opponent showed no presence, almost certainly it must be the presence concealment typical of the ASSASSIN class.”

“And the rest?”

“…If I must say, the weapon of the opposing Servant… very rare.”

“Oh? A very rare weapon? Is it a Noble Phantasm?”

Hearing this, Rin's spirits lifted; the rarer the Noble Phantasm, the more likely they could identify the opponent's true identity.

“I'm not sure, because the weapon used was a gun.”

“A gun? So, like LANCER?”

“Not the kind of gun you're thinking of, Rin.”

Hearing Rin's doubt, ARCHER shook his head, then he raised his right hand, forming a gun with his thumb and index finger, aiming at Rin.

“Like this.”

“…Eh?”

It really stupefied Rin.

“You mean… the Heroic Spirit used a modern weapon?”

At this moment, Rin felt her brain just couldn't wrap around this idea, even suspecting ARCHER might be playing a prank on her. However, his expression was very serious, not at all like he was joking.

“Strictly speaking, it's not like a modern weapon… In any case, the firepower of the gun the opponent used was extremely strong…”

Saying this, ARCHER also sucked in a breath of cold air. He had never witnessed such a domineering and terrifying gunfire attack. The opponent started with a burst of gunfire, forcing ARCHER to run for cover. Although normally, ARCHER is proficient at ranged attacks, the arrows he released, both in speed and power, evidently couldn't compare with an automatic firearm.

Otherwise, firearms wouldn't have made bows and arrows obsolete. So it was understandable why ARCHER was forced to flee, as one arrow takes longer to launch while the opponent could riddle you with bullets. Isn't running the only option?

“There's such a Heroic Spirit?”

Hearing ARCHER's reply, Rin was also dumbfounded.

“Are you sure that's its Noble Phantasm?”

“I'm certain. If it were bullets from a regular firearm, they wouldn't be able to harm us, as we are Heroic Spirits. The only drawback of the opponent seems to be the range, which is relatively short, preventing long-range shooting.”

In this respect, ARCHER still had the advantage, but not overwhelmingly so, because his opponent was ASSASSIN. If ARCHER tried to maintain distance and kite, the opponent would immediately disappear and then find a way to close the distance again. But if ARCHER didn't maintain his distance, he'd just have to endure a barrage of gunfire.

It must be said, last night's fight was also very frustrating for ARCHER.

“So, does it mean ASSASSIN is generally weak in combat, but has a strong Noble Phantasm?”

Rin thought for a moment. Such Heroic Spirits existed but those using modern weaponry were extremely rare. After all… in this age, it's uncommon for one to achieve feats comparable to those of a Heroic Spirit.

“Pretty much, as ASSASSIN is generally the weakest in combat among the Servants. If it weren't for the troublesome nature of the opponent's firearm, I wouldn't have chosen to retreat.”

Saying this, ARCHER was somewhat unwilling, as he mentioned, by all logic, modern weapons shouldn't harm Heroic Spirits by a bit. Even dropping a missile on them would be the same because, essentially, Heroic Spirits are also spirits, and using physical means against spirits is fundamentally misguided.

However, if a missile possessed the power to hurt a Heroic Spirit, that would be truly terrifying.

This is why firearms and tanks have supplanted bows and arrows and cavalry; Heroic Spirits should be an exception…

“It seems truly troublesome…”

Hearing ARCHER's answer, Rin also clenched her teeth; she was no fool. After hearing ARCHER's explanation, she immediately understood Sakura's tactics. Clearly, it was a very orthodox Heroic Spirit vs. Heroic Spirit, Magician vs. Magician strategy.

But this was unusual for Sakura because her Servant was ASSASSIN, and ASSASSINS are usually used for assassinating Masters. So Sakura's tactics were clearly unusual, but this was perhaps for the better, as it allowed Rin to focus on confronting her sister…

But she couldn't overcome it!

Thinking of this, Rin also gripped her head in headache.

“`
“Imaginary Attributes, huh? This thing is so rare that there's hardly any record of it in books, so Rin Tohsaka doesn't even know how to deal with it.

On the Faelun Continent, Rin Tohsaka would be an Energy Shaping Magician. She's not afraid of direct spell confrontations, but she fears those tricky things like Illusion Technique, Enchantment, or Prophecy… and unfortunately, Sakura is exactly that type.

From last night's fight, Rin Tohsaka could tell that her sister wasn't just an armchair magician; she had rich practical experience and was very adept with magic applications. If their father could see Sakura now, he would surely praise her greatly.

“Ah…”

Thinking of her father, Rin Tohsaka sighed quietly.

Although as a Magician, she didn't think her father did anything wrong, but… Sakura would probably never forgive their father.

“MASTER.”

Just as Rin Tohsaka was caught up in her complicated thoughts, ARCHER's voice rang out again.

“Although I hesitate to say this, it's almost time for school.”

“Ah, no good!”

Rin Tohsaka snapped back to reality, glanced at the clock, and suddenly jumped up from the table, then hurriedly dashed towards the door.

“Let's go, ARCHER!”

For the citizens of Fuyuki City, everything was as usual.

No one noticed the battle that occurred last night, partly because the battlefield was outside the Church far from the city, and partly because the Cathedral Church had covered up the battle circumstances. As for the cemetery destroyed by the fight between SABER and BERSERKER, it was passed off as a gas explosion.

Huh, the gas company in Fuyuki City must have gone bankrupt long ago.

Duanmu Huai and the others also spent a day wandering in Fuyuki City but came up empty-handed.

“So far, we can only be sure of SABER, ARCHER, and BERSERKER. CASTER has already been dealt with by us. Sakura either has RIDER or ASSASSIN…”

As for why it isn't LANCER, the reason is simple. The initial battle between ARCHER and LANCER was witnessed by Sakura, and naturally, Duanmu Huai and the others saw it too. After that, they pinpointed LANCER's location and confirmed it was inside the Church.

“It looks like we can only wait for night to fall.”

After a fruitless search, Duanmu Huai could do nothing but wait for nightfall again. Unlike the fourth Holy Grail War, this time the Masters and Servants are all mice, not coming out until night.

However…

“I feel something's not quite right.”

Standing on top of a tall building, overlooking the city of Fuyuki, Duanmu Huai furrowed his brows. His instincts sensed a strange danger, as if something was spreading through the city. The aura was faint and somewhat familiar; however, it was too thin for Duanmu Huai to connect it to anything for the time being.

“Sir Knight.”

“MASTER.”

At that moment, the others also returned, but their expressions were very grim.

“What happened? What's wrong?”

“We were at the shopping district and saw a news report on TV about some disappearances.”

“Disappearances? When did this happen?”

“Yesterday evening. They said it was female students heading home from school, many of whom didn't make it home. The number of missing individuals is quite large.”

“Was it CASTER's doing?”

“No, the magic power at Ryudou Temple comes from the office buildings in the new development district. CASTER draws from men's vitality, not the power of young girls.”

“What about the school?”

“ARCHER's Master is studying there, but she seems to have not noticed anything unusual. I just went to investigate, and because of the disappearance, the school has decided to cancel all extracurricular activities today and have students go straight home after school.”

“That's serious…”

Duanmu Huai frowned and thought for a moment, then looked at Lorena, Mash, Alice Phil, and Medea in turn.

“Did you find anything unusual last night? Nothing at all?”

They looked at each other and shook their heads.

“I see.”

Duanmu Huai had made his decision.

“From now on, everyone monitor the students going home, see if there's anything unusual. As for the other Masters, Medea and Alice Phil can keep watch with a few familiars.”

“MASTER, do you think this is the work of Servants?”

Mash also asked, and Duanmu Huai shrugged.

“I'm not sure, but I have a bad feeling. Let's just wait and see.”

He replied.

Chapter end

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