Missed It by That Much

TYPE MOON Universe, Earth, Japan, Fuyuki City. 

As Elicia pulled Rin and Shirou away from the battle and Illyasviel jumped down from Berserker's shoulder, Saber, with her sword in hand, raced forward to engage. Meanwhile, Archer sprinted away from the battlefield to find a vantage point to take advantage of his long-range attack options. Though, he did click his tongue when he saw just how far away Elicia took Shirou from the battle. 

*Clang!* 

Not long later, Saber was in Berserker's range for melee combat. And as soon as she was, he swung his massive axe-sword in a sweeping arch, intending to tear Saber in half. 

However, Saber reacted quickly, raising her invisible blade to parry Berserker's blow. Yet, thanks to the absurd strength behind the blow, even with her [Mana Burst] ability in play, she was sent sliding across the cemetery grounds. 

At the same time, Tatsuo, who had hung back at the group's starting position took advantage of the single moment that all of Berserker's attention was on Saber before he struck to slip into [Stealth]. Then, he moved around to Berserker's blind spot and waited for an opportunity to make a surprise attack. 

Regaining her footing after Berserker's attack, Saber rushed back into battle. And just like before, Berserker used his immense strength to swing his weapon. However, unlike last time, Saber ducked under the strike, the air pressure feeling like blades on her skin. Then, she stabbed forward at Berserker's throat. 

*Clang!* 

Yet, in a surprising show of dexterity, Berserker managed to bring his axe-sword back and intercept the stab with the flat of his weapon, a small shockwave radiating outwards from the force of the impact. 

Completely undeterred, Saber shifted her weapon, pressing the flat of her own blade against Berserker's. Then, she slid the blade towards Berserker's fingers, aiming to cut them off. 

Yet, despite Berserker's [Mad Enhancement] making his actions less rational, all of his fighting instincts were present. So, instead of letting Saber's tactic succeed, he swept his weapon to the side, destabilizing Saber's balance before throwing a devastating punch with his free hand. 

"Tch!" Tatsuo clicked his tongue as soon as he noticed Berserker's intention. Then, he rushed forward to save Saber from what would result in a debilitating injury. 

Knowing that unless he were to use his [Noble Phantasm], [Exacuere Vade Inanis], he would not be able to inflict any damage on Berserker, Tatsuo forewent attacking. Instead, he used his skill in martial arts to slightly redirect Berserker's punch after dashing in to intercept. 

"Damn…" Tatsuo groaned under the weight of Berserker's attack. "Greek Mythology's strongest hero isn't an exaggeration, is it." 

"Urgh!" Saber groaned only an instant later, as she was grazed by Berserker's fist, despite Tatsuo's best efforts. 

Even so, she did not miss the opportunity to counterattack that Tatsuo's opening provided, as she pulled her sword close to her body and rushed up close to Berserker before thrusting her sword into his lower abdomen. 

*Squelch!*

"Rahh~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!" Berserker bellowed in rage, the position of Saber's strike enough to take one of his lives once she slashed her blade to the side following the attack. 

A moment later, completely unconcerned with Tatsuo, who was seen as a non-threat, Berserker swept his arm, which Tatsuo had slightly deflected a moment ago towards Saber, intending to grab and crush her with his bare hand. As a result, both Tatsuo and Saber were in the line of the attack. Though, they were both able to distance themselves before his log of an arm or steel pincer of a hand could reach them. 

"Why did you save me?" Saber asked as she rolled the shoulder that was grazed by Berserker's punch. 

"Because I can't take this mountain of a man on alone." Tatsuo replied bluntly and succinctly. "Which means, if you go down, I'm slipping into [Stealth], grabbing Lici, and getting the hell outta here. As for what happens to your Master after that, I really couldn't care less." 

Saber could not help but appreciate Tatsuo's honesty. Even so, the way he disregarded the life of someone weaker than him was a bit off-putting. Still, in a ritual like the Holy grail War, those actions would have been the correct ones. 

Berserker, after his wounds were regenerated, did not give the two much more time to chat, rushing forward, his speed uncommon for someone of his size. Then, like before, he completely ignored Tatsuo, allowing the Assassin to slip into [Stealth] once again, while he focused on Saber. 

*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* 

Swinging his weapon with immense skill, speed, and strength, Berserker pressured Saber greatly, not giving her the opportunity to counterattack, despite the fact that she could keep up with her sword skill. Unfortunately, Berserker's Strength often left Saber reeling slightly, and unable to take advantage of any opening he left during his onslaught. 

Meanwhile, Tatsuo, while observing the battle, could not help but smile when he received a pair of [Notifications]. 

{[Notifications] 

[Skill], [Weapon Mastery] has ranked up from B+ to A-. 

[Skill], [Martial Arts] has ranked up from B to B+.} 

'Damn… Just watching those two fight has increased two skills at once.' Tatsuo muttered internally. 'I wish I could just watch them go at it for hours. If I could, I get the feeling, I might be able to match James in pure skill.' 

'Kya~~~!" 

A sudden feminine scream snapped Tatsuo from his thoughts. However, he was not the only one affected, as Berserker, recognizing the voice of the one screaming, turned his attention away from Saber. 

"Rahh~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!" Berserker bellowed angrily when he saw Illyasviel flying through the air while Elicia stood on her hands with her feet extended in the direction Illyasviel was sent flying. 

*Swish!* *Splatter!*

Saber, taking advantage of Berserker's inattention, stepped forward with er sword raised. Then, with all her might, she brought her sword down, her blade cleaving through Berserker's chest from his left shoulder to his right hip, bisecting his heart in the process, and causing the grey-skinned giant to stagger. 

Even so, Berserker seemed completely unbothered, completely ignoring Saber, opting to focus all his attention on safeguarding his Master. 

Then, in a burst of speed, Berserker blurred across the battlefield, aiming at Elicia, the direct reason for Illyasviel's pain. However, no matter how fast he was, there was no way he would be able to catch Elicia off guard, not with her [Magic Power Detection]. 

*Boom!* 

Just as Berserker reached Elicia's position, he swung down his massive axe-sword, intending to split the Magic Seamstress in half. However, Elicia, was able to narrowly avoid the attack by spinning on one hand, letting the weapon's blade just barely pass by her back. Then, with one hand, she pushed off the ground and made distance between herself and the massive Servant. 

"Interrupting a duel between magi is rather rude." Elicia said with a pout while flicking her fingers in Berserker's direction. "Not to mention, that sneak attack was really mean, too." 

Completely ignoring Elicia's complaints, Berserker raised his weapon and took a step forward to once again rush towards Elicia. However, just as he raised his momentum, his eyes widened as he felt something tighten around his left ankle and pull in the opposite direction of his dash. 

*Boom!* 

A moment later, Berserker fell forward. Though, he was able to get his hands down to stop himself from face-planting. Yet, that was enough of an opening for Tatsuo, who appeared silently behind the Greek Hero. 

"[Exacuere Vade Inanis]." Tatsuo said as he invoked his [Noble Phantasm]. 

*Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!* *Thunk!*

At the same time, Tatsuo slashed his trench knives three times in quick succession before stabbing once to finish his combo. All the while, his blades were coated in razor-sharp midnight purple mana. 

*Splatter!* x 4

Tatsuo then leapt away at high-speed after landing his four attacks. A moment later, four wounds opened up on Berserker's body, blood gushing from a slit throat, a slash across both kidneys, a diagonal slash that once again struck his heart, and a stab wound at the base of his skull. 

"That's four for me." Tatsuo muttered as he landed next to Saber, who was slightly shocked at the destructive power of Tatsuo's [Noble Phantasm]. "And with the two you inflicted, that's six times that he should have died. Yet, that big bastard is still alive and kicking." 

Although Tatsuo was talking as though he had no idea why Berserker was not dead yet, he knew that if he wanted to, he would have no issue killing him, provided he could land his attacks. 

Yet, because of Berserker's skill, speed, and strength, he also knew that unless he had someone to distract the Greek Hero, even if he attacked from [Stealth], he would never have enough time to land twelve successful kill shots. 

A moment later, just as Berserker managed to pick himself back up, Tatsuo's and Elicia's eyes widened. Then, they both dashed away from Berserker's location while Tatsuo also grabbed Saber and pulled her away, though she did struggle when he put his hands on her. 

Then, not even a second later, a point of light lit up in the distance. 

*Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!* 

And after only another second, it, now a streak of light, slammed into Berserker's head before detonating, causing a huge mana explosion that affected the area thirty feet around Berserker. 

Luckily for Illyasviel, before hitting the ground after Elicia's kick, one of her bird automatons caught her. Then, when she saw Elicia and the two Servants running away from Berserker, her survival instinct kicked in. She then pumped a huge amount of mana into the automaton, greatly increasing its parameters, and ordered it to carry her away, as well. 

As a result, she was able to escape the range of the explosion. 

As for the reason for the explosion, we would have to go back a few minutes and move away from the cemetery. 

At the beginning of the fight with Illyasviel and Berserker, Archer ran away from the cemetery at top speed. However, he was not running away from the fight. Instead, he was looking for a place from which he could snipe Berserker with his bow. And it did not take long for him to find it. 

"That should be perfect." Archer murmured to himself as he ran towards the tallest building in Fuyuki, the Central Building. "The view should be completely unobstructed from up there." 

With that said, Archer picked up his pace. And before long, he was standing on the roof of the Central building and looking towards the cemetery. 

And with is abilities as an Archer-Class Servant, Archer had no issue seeing everything happening on the battlefield with perfect clarity. 

Archer reached his destination just in time to see Saber land her second killing blow on Berserker while Elicia landed her first solid blow on Illyasviel. And when he saw Berserker roar in anger after hearing Illyasviel's scream, he knew he had found the perfect opportunity to attack. 

Archer then materialized his bow in his left hand. At the same time, an ominous-looking, barbed red spear materialized in his right. He then flourished the spear with one hand before taking hold of it at its butt. 

After that, Archer exhaled slowly while raising his arms in standard Kyūdō form. Then, once his arms reached their apex, he inhaled sharply as he took aim and placed the spear on the bowstring, causing it to transform into a crimson-red arrow with a barbed arrow head. He then drew the bow to full draw before waiting for the perfect opportunity to loose the arrow. 

At that very moment, however, Archer almost lost his grip on the arrow when he saw Tatsuo use his [Noble Phantasm] to land four deadly strikes on Berserker in less than a second. Even so, thanks to his years of experience, he knew that the time Berserker would take to recover from such blows would be the perfect opportunity he was waiting for. 

"Now." Archer said softly as he started loading as much mana as he could into the notched arrow, causing it to glow brightly. Then, once the arrow was filled to capacity, he gently released it. 

As soon as Archer let go of the arrow, it transformed into a streak of light headed straight for Berserker's head. At the same time, everyone in Berserker's vicinity got away from the impact site as quickly as they could. Then… 

*Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!* 

… the arrow exploded on contact, the bright light of the explosion visible for miles. Meanwhile, Archer lowered his bow and watched to see the aftermath of his attack. 

Eventually, the light dimmed, and the smoke settled. And when it did, Archer could see that Berserker was barely alive. He had dropped to one knee, once again, with numerous gashes adorning his muscular body, blood flowing from each gash, painting his grey skin in vivid hues of crimson. 

Even so, the light in Berserker's eyes had not diminished in the slightest. In fact, the light of madness hidden in his pupils was glowing even brighter than before. 

"Tch!" Archer clicked his tongue as he once again raised his bow. "It wasn't enough. Unfortunately, I don't think I have enough mana left to fire a second arrow as strong as that one. And if I did fire another one, I'm not sure Rin would be able to supplement it without consequence." 

Despite those thoughts, Archer was prepared to fire another arrow. Though, it would undoubtedly be weaker than the last one. 

Meanwhile, back at the cemetery, Saber was in awe of the power Archer displayed with that attack. Elicia and Tatsuo, on the other hand, were expecting as much. 

"Looks like that one killed him five times, almost six." Tatsuo said while looking over Berserker's injuries. "But now, it looks like he's on high alert. Getting close enough to him to land a killing blow will be tough." 

"Yeah, and I doubt using my threads as a distraction will work a second time, either." Elicia added. "Still, we only need one more kill and the strongest Servant we've seen since arriving in Fuyuki will be taken out." 

And just how are we supposed to do that?" Saber asked as she raised her sword, noticing that Berserker was looking at the trio with murderous intent. 

"Good question." Tatsuo replied. "But if we--- Damn it." 

Before Tatsuo could finish what he wanted to say, he saw Illyasviel sprinting towards Berserker. And when she arrived, she jumped onto his left shoulder. Then, she held a hand out as magical energy surged around her. 

"[By my Command Spell]." Illyasviel said in a solemn tone. "[Berserker, I order you to return us home.]" 

In the next instant, Berserker, with Illyasviel perched on his shoulder, disappeared from the cemetery in a flash of light, his presence reappearing in the Einzbern Castle outside the city a moment later. 

"*Sigh* And that's what we call a missed opportunity." Tatsuo muttered as he stepped away from Saber, taking a defensive position in front of Elicia. 

"Either way, at least this proves that he's not invincible." Elicia said in her usual cheerful tone as she flicked a glance towards the entrance to the cemetery. "Which means, we should have no problem fighting him again in the future." 

At that moment, both Rin and Shirou ran over from where Elicia left them to rejoin the rest of the group. 

"Saber, are you okay?" Shirou asked once he and Rin arrived. 

"I am fine." Saber said as she continued to watch Tatsuo and Elicia warily. "There is no need to worry. I will be able to heal soon enough." 

"That's a relief." Shirou said, exhaling a sigh as he did so. 

"Well, if you were a proper Magus, an injury like that one would be healed instantly. "*Sigh* f I were the one to summon Saber, I would be unstoppable." 

"Please excuse me for not living up to your expectations, Master." Archer said dryly as he materialized next to Rin. 

"Stop being so dramatic, Archer." Rin replied without even looking back. She then turned to Elicia as she continued. "Anyway, are you gonna tell him?" 

"I am." Elicia replied. "Not now, though. After a fight like that, I'm sure we're all exhausted. And I think we need some rest." 

"Tell me what?" Shirou asked in a curious tone. 

"I'll tell you tomorrow…. Uh… Later today, I guess." Elicia said, her tone turning awkward near the end. 

Hearing that, Shirou subconsciously looked at the time, pulling a flip phone out of his pocket to do so. 

"Huh? Is it really that late?" Shirou asked in shock. "Man, I need to get home and get some sleep. Otherwise, I'm gonna be a walking zombie at school tomorrow." 

"*Sigh* It's nice to see you really have your priorities straight, Emiya-Kun." Rin replied in exasperation. 

"Anyway, if you're interested in hearing what I have to say, I'll stop by at your place after you get out of school." Elicia said as she turned around and waved over her shoulder. "And if he's feeling generous, Assassin might even cook a meal for you. And let me tell you, you should really hope he's feeling generous. Because his cooking is some of the best you'll ever have the honor of tasting." 

With that, Elicia walked off. At the same time, Tatsuo rolled his eyes before returning to his astral form and following her. As for Rin and Shirou, they both decided to return to Miyama Town, as well, with their Servants following and protecting them. 

Meanwhile, Lancer, who had been dispatched by Bazett when she felt the clashes of mana during the battle, was running back towards the Grand Hyatt Hotel in his astral form. 

'They both definitely noticed me.' Lancer thought to himself as he recalled the way Tatsuo stood in a defensive position in front of Elicia after Berserker vanished and how Elicia glanced in his direction shortly afterwards. 'They're definitely stronger than I thought they would be. Man, I can't wait to fight them. *Sigh* If only that Assassin wasn't so annoying, though.' 

Despite his complaints about Tatsuo, Lancer actually did not dislike him. IN fact, he felt talking to him was like talking to an old friend that he could mess around with. Though, he had no idea why. 

Eventually, Lancer returned to the hotel and reported everything he saw to Bazett. Not long after that, Tatsuo and Elicia also returned to the hotel and told Sakura, who had been worried about them ever since they left, and Rider about what they experienced, as well.