Fate/Heroes - Chapter 74

Under the orders of Robin, Aqualad, Artemis, Kid Flash and himself headed in the opposite direction of Kara, Cassie and Mareena.

The girls headed towards the center of the city, while Superboy’s team headed towards the Statue of Liberty just off shore of New York.

The boy wonder’s group arrived at New York City historic landmark and immediately noticed the two people standing side by side in the center of the bridge. All traffic had been ceased on either side of the bridge and both figures turned around towards the four members of the Team.

A strange foreign looking man wearing a weird mixture of an Emperor’s robe and a General’s uniform turned around with a smile as he placed his hands on his hɨps and spoke,

“Greetings young warriors! I am the Archer of Black! I, By the Grace of God and the Constitutions of the Republic, Emperor of the French, Mediator of the Swiss Convention, His Imperial Majesty, Na-“.

“Archer, shut up!”.

The French man looked a little peevish at the sudden interruption during his introduction and rolled his eyes at the beautiful blonde standing next to him. The self-proclaimed Emperor of the French cleared his throat before smiling at the four heroes in front of him.

“It seems that my Master doesn’t want me to reveal my identity to you…. very well! It seems that we must fight each other without knowledge of the others names! Although this isn’t what I’m normally used to, I suppose that we can still enjoy ourselves-“.

“Archer! Shut up!”, his blonde haired Master interrupted him once more, drawing her sword as she leaped towards Robin and the others, her speed rivaling Cassie’s as Aqualad came to the forefront blocking her blow with two water swords.

The blonde Master narrowed her eyes as she looked at Kaldur, before kicking him in the side causing him to fly back and collide with the stone steel foundations of the bridge.

“Aqualad!”.

Robin’s eyes widened and he gave a glance towards Artemis and Wally who nodded. The former headed towards their Atalantean friend to check on his condition, and the latter two headed towards the Master and Servant combo, each knowing full well what they had to do.

Although they had only trained with Caster for one day, the specs of a Servant were outlined by her as she beat it into them with countless shards of ice and snow. The bone-numbing cold would’ve caused normal humans to develop frostbite, but the Team tried their best to deal with such problems, even if they didn’t get very far.

The details of Archer of Black’s powers were also given by their own Archer of White, who giggled evilly as he examined the enemy Servants with a keen eye.

Robin would never forget the level of detail the Servant gave as he pulled apart the tiniest details through a short video of Gray interacting with the seven other Servants.

“Saber is obviously Japanese in origin due to the kimono and katana she wields. The style is remarkably similar to a Demon Hunter Organization Family back in my old world. The Ryougi Family or Nanaya family would suit the most due to their bladed preferences, yet swords were not the most suitable for the Nanaya Assassination Arts. A daughter of the Ryougi Family then. Her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception are unique and can cut just about anything she can imagine. With her being a child of the Ryougi Family she must possess a dual personality as all members of that particular Demon Hunting Family do…. To combat, do so from a distance to avoid close-quarters combat. This personality is leaning towards the feminine side from her demeanor and clothing, so it must be the feminine feminine version of her that was summoned. I suggest a multi-direction bombardment from someone like Dr Fate in order to deal with her quickly and efficiently….. She is the most dangerous Servant other than Caster and Lancer….”.

Even Batman’s mouth dropped slightly as his Servants examination of Saber of Black. Even if all the information was given to him, he wouldn’t be able to discern Saber’s weaknesses and origins from just a single glance.

It only proved how amazing Moriarty truly was…. as well as how Sherlock was as well….

The Servant continued on with his evaluations.

“Lancer could be seen wearing a western style armor with posturing and regalia not seen in most monarchs. The shape of the armor is much wider at the bust line so the Servant must be a woman. That Pseudo-Servant called her the King of Lions so her identity as Arthur Pendragon is pretty much straight forward. This version of the King of Britain must’ve used his spear, whatever it was called instead of Excalibur. The legends behind this spear is not lesser than Casters so she is also deadly in close quarters. Her second Noble Phantasm utilizes wind to hide his lance from view. No doubt it has offensive uses, but less than practical as a weapon in the long run. Suggesting to separate Lancer from her steed by any means necessary, then engaging her in close-quarters. If the legends is true, than humans should try and fight her. Her weapons should have seals that restrict its power. Perhaps fighting one-on-one constantly breaking down her endurance and agility would prove the most fruitful….”.

The Napoleon of the Criminal World continued.

“Archer seems to be the one whose name is within my title…. He his prideful above all else being the former Emperor of France after all, and his military and combat prowess is nothing to scoff at either. His Parameters as a Servant may be weak but his legend and tales are legendary despite his lack of Mystery. As a more modern day Servant, he might be a Pioneer of the Stars. This might make him more of a wildcard than anything as they have the potential to turn the “impossible” into “events that can be realized”. This may make him more difficult in the long run to deal with, but it the importance of dealing with Saber and Lancer are higher. Since his Parameters are weak, someone with sufficient Strength and Endurance could defeat him single handedly. Although beware his Noble Phantasm, it may contain a destructive power higher than Anti-Unit”.

A sudden shift in the ambient mana in the air caused Archer to smack Wally with his massive cannon causing the speedster to fly off the edge of the bridge. Aqualad dived off the side, attempting to catch the protégé of the Flash, landing on a soft malleable bed of water instead of a hard, concrete like ocean.

Napoleon turned his head towards his Master and shouted.

“Master! We have to get out of here!”.

She blocked two arrows and a batarang before turning around to look at her larger Servant with a frown.

“Why! We’ve got them on the run!?”.

Archer shook his head and watched from a distance a golden pillar of light pierce the dark and stormy sky above. The light radiated the illusion of hopes and dreams, the tower that shined to the end of the world….

The Servant knew the power of the King of Lions just as well as any other Servant on the Black Faction. She was a force to be reckoned with, especially if she was faced enemies with restraints she could unlock in order to increase her power.

Not caring for his Master’s personal space, her scooped her up in her arms and leaped towards the top of the bridge. He looked down at the blonde Amazonian in his arms and shook his head, causing her angry expression to turn stern.

“Master, you know I love a good fight, but we need to return to the Hanging Gardens. Assassin and Caster have already completed their mission, and you and I have already stalled the heroes in this city for more than enough time…. Let us retreat….”.

Knowing full well where and who was at the base of the pillar of light, they immediately headed towards it.

Green colored lightning flashed towards Central Park as well…..