-30- My turn to ask questions

"Clang!"

In the resounding clash, the shield and bow collided in the raging wind, causing both users to be pushed back, creating some distance between them.

"Tsk..."

The Archer clicked his tongue. He had seen it now.

In front of him, two figures had suddenly appeared, and he couldn't tell when they had approached.

"Are you the attacker?"

With a vigilant gaze and expression, Mash questioned the Archer while remaining on guard. Rozen, standing behind Mash, also observed the Archer and confirmed his identity.

"Indeed, the attacker is a Servant, and the class is Archer. Not surprising, I guess?"

Rozen's voice clearly reached the Archer's ears.

"Having the ability to make such precise shots, you can only be a Servant. I doubt you're like those subpar 'shadows' incapable of speaking, right?"

Rozen teased the Archer, all the while being cautious in his heart.

If the opponent was a true Servant, not some imitation from a simulated battle, he had to be careful not to be killed.

With that in mind, Rozen intended to stall for time, engage in conversation, and gather information to find an advantageous strategy.

His taunting seemed to have some effect.

"I must admit; I'm quite surprised. To think you managed to get close to me while occupying the high ground."

Archer glanced at Mash, who was on guard, then turned his attention back to Rozen.

"How did you do it?"

That was Archer's question.

"Whether in the sky or on the ground, nothing escapes my 'Clairvoyance,' making it quite challenging for anyone to get close. Did you use invisibility magic or a precious treasure capable of spatial transfer?"

Archer could only think of these possibilities.

Unfortunately...

"Wrong," Rozen shrugged, saying, "I didn't need to use invisibility magic or any rare treasure capable of spatial transfer. All I needed was something in the underground of this town, isn't that right?"

In the know, Archer was momentarily confused, but then he quickly understood.

"Ah, I see. It's the sewer, right?"

Exactly.

The last thing Rozen saw before he took cover behind the building was the entrance to the sewer.

By entering the sewer and following its path, he could approach Archer without being seen.

As for locating Archer, that was even simpler.

"Even though you are several kilometers away from us, to snipe us from such a distance, you would need a high vantage point. Among all the directions, this place is the most suitable."

Rozen's laughter dispelled all of Archer's doubts.

"Very well, now it's my turn to ask questions."

Rozen shifted his gaze towards Archer, his voice becoming solemn.

"Who sent you to attack us? And who is your Master?"

First and foremost, this question needed to be answered.

Aside from that, Rozen had many other inquiries.

Among them, the most crucial one was...

"What happened to this town? Why has it turned into this?"

Rozen voiced the most important question.

The burning city, reduced to ruins.

This was undoubtedly an abnormal state.

If Rozen's guess was correct, he had been transferred through Spiritrons to the year 2004.

The fire in the control room led to the first failed operation of Chaldea.

However, the initial Spiritron transfer experiment of Chaldea had already begun before Rozen left the control room. After the explosion in the control room, the system detected the experiment's termination, automatically switching from manual to automatic operation, transferring the intact Master Spiritrons to the operational destination. It wasn't anything peculiar.

In other words, at this moment, Rozen was in the 2004 Fuyuki City, inside the Singularity F.

After all, Chaldea's records did not mention this massive fire engulfing the entire town in 2004.

This could only mean that an abnormality had occurred in this era, unrecorded, and something unprecedented in human history was happening.

This event led to the extinction of human history.

Now, Rozen was determined to figure out this question.

"Don't tell me you don't want to answer?" Rozen said with a playful smile. "The current situation is favorable for us."

Even though the ambush had failed, facing an Archer, from such a close range, even a Servant would be taken down by Mash before they could draw their bow.

Unless...

"You think getting closer will secure your victory?"

Archer's cold voice transmitted.

The next moment, Archer did something.

He released the bow from his hands.

"Buzz!"

Magic surged once again, converging into a red, lightning-like form in Archer's hands.

Immediately after, Archer's hands gripped two short swords formed by magic, appearing like polar opposites.

"What...!?"

Mash was shocked.

"He has swords...!?"

Rozen was equally taken aback.

Clearly, the class was Archer, so why did he have swords?

Even if the Archer from this era was proficient in swordsmanship, when a Servant's Spirit Origin was summoned, they should only be allowed to possess their bow as a Noble Phantasm.

At the same time as this surprise, Rozen immediately understood.

As a magus, Rozen knew precisely what the Servant before him had just done.

"Projection...!?"

——Projection.

It was a magic that materialized items that once existed in reality, creating them as imitations using magical energy.

The Servant before his eyes had manifested the swords through this means.

In other words, the opponent hadn't used a Noble Phantasm; he employed magecraft.

"You made a mistake assuming that an Archer could only use a bow, unknown Master."

Leaving these words behind, the nameless Archer smiled before his expression turned cold. He then stomped the ground with astonishing momentum and launched a charge.

"Master!"

Mash immediately leaped forward and stood in front of Rozen, raising her shield, ready to confront Archer.

Suddenly...

"——!"

Archer, charging at full speed, abruptly stopped in his tracks, turned his head, and looked in a certain direction.

His expression shifted from anger to annoyance.

"That pesky dog!"

After uttering such an annoyed remark, Archer paid no attention to Rozen and Mash, turned around, and transformed into particles, disappearing from sight.

"This..."

Mash was stunned.

"Dog...?"

Rozen frowned.

The entire tower was now left with only this pair of young boys and girls.

The cold wind blew, carrying the smell of ash.