"Hah, the things I go through because of my Master."
Cú Chulainn dematerialized and observed the surroundings from atop the tallest building.
Even though he wasn't an Archer, Cú Chulainn was a hero, and if he could see even a slight flow of mana, he could distinguish whether something was a Servant or not.
Today was just reconnaissance, and it seemed the Servants weren't even coming out of their houses, let alone being visible.
"Hah, is everyone a coward? Shouldn't at least one have appeared by now?"
A short while later, Cú Chulainn's eyes widened at a provocative act that seemed to be releasing mana from somewhere.
"Heh? No sooner said than done, someone's spreading mana. It's a crude provocation, but since they're provoking as if they want a fight, as an Ulster warrior, I can't back down."
And Cú Chulainn headed towards the place where the mana was being released.
The place was a battlefield close to a dueling ground.
A place with no people, suitable for fighting.
It was the Fuyuki container port.
However, seeing a spear that resembled his own and a golden spear, he thought it might be someone from Ulster.
"Hey, who the hell are you!"
"Prince of Light of Ireland... As you may know, I am Diarmuid Ua Duibhne."
Diarmuid was nothing more than a handsome man who had aged in the process of incarnation. Although he had completely covered his love spot, even if the curse had faded somewhat, his appearance had not.
"Hah, are you that knight of the unlucky Fionn mac Cumhaill?"
"I'm honored you recognized me."
"Honored or not, I only remember being toyed with. No matter how extraordinary he was, he never fought. I hate dealing with guys who just play tricks and leave..."
"I see. My lord also judged that a frontal confrontation with Cú Chulainn would be difficult."
Cú Chulainn snorted, never imagining that Fionn mac Cumhaill would have such a knight.
"Hah, well, that aside, you seem like a Lancer, but also not?"
"Well, I'm just a survivor of the 4th Holy Grail War..."
"Incarnated, huh?"
Diarmuid nodded.
"I see... If you want to fight warrior to warrior, I'll take that fight anytime! Though I hope there won't be any tricks like Fionn mac Cumhaill's."
Diarmuid smirked, pointing his two spears, and said:
"Our lord was always smart from the beginning."
"Yeah, enough about him, let's fight!"
The light of struggle was visible in Cú Chulainn's eyes.
The Holy Grail War had been so peaceful that he was bored, and he didn't even question why the other knew his True Name.
He had just passed it off as being from Ulster, and with prey in front of him, he asked no questions to show the courtesy of warriors.
He just swung his spear.
As Diarmuid thrust with his two spears, Cú Chulainn quickly parried both with his single spear.
Truly godspeed.
Both were fast, but the power of a spear wielded with two hands was vastly different from an attack wielded with one hand. However, the two Lancers were fighting with the same specs.
Diarmuid might have been faster, but since he had aged after incarnation, one might think his combat power had significantly decreased. However, his training had not stopped, so his specs had not degenerated, but it was hard to say his combat power had surpassed or decreased either.
"Yeah, if it's a fight between warriors, it should be like this!"
Cú Chulainn never let go of prey he had bitten once.
Each spear thrust was like a beast's attack, so Diarmuid was fighting while sweating cold sweat.
Diarmuid's spear attacks were certainly higher in number, but conversely, Cú Chulainn was fighting with the resolve to give flesh to cut bone, so Diarmuid could understand why Fionn mac Cumhaill avoided combat and toyed with him.
The red spear, imbued with struggle and fighting spirit, clashed with the red spear, but neither gained any ground.
Cú Chulainn was wary of the golden short spear, so he never let himself be hit by it even once.
That showed how much he cared about the curse.
『Lancer, what are you doing?』
At that moment, Cú Chulainn had no choice but to retreat due to a telepathic message that gave him goosebumps.
『Uh, Master?』
『I told you to just scout. Who told you to fight?』
Even though he was a warrior, he couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
Because he instinctively realized that if he returned, he would be beaten like a dog with a reinforced fist...
She resembled his teacher, but honestly, she was terrifying.
"Why did you stop suddenly?"
"Ah, my Master sent a telepathic message. We're both from Ulster, but honestly, my Master is quite scary..."
"I understand that too... On our Master's side, the woman next to him is scary."
Their opinions were similar, but the essence of what they meant was as different as heaven and earth.
"Yeah, you must have it tough too."
"No, it's not tough."
『Sigh, well... I'll let it slide this time. So who is the opponent?』
『Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. You could say he's a warrior in the Fianna Knights led by Fionn mac Cumhaill.』
『Also from Ulster. Class?』
『He's incarnated. Class is presumed to be Lancer.』
『Hmm... did he appear now because he wants to fight another Ulster warrior? Or did a survivor of the previous Holy Grail War intervene?』
『Well, we'll find out as we fight.』
『I'm a fool for expecting anything from a man like you.』
At those words, Cú Chulainn smirked.
'Saying things she doesn't mean. Well, since I started a fight, I have no choice but to fight with the intent to kill.'
And as Cú Chulainn took a stance, Diarmuid also took a stance.
"Then, I'll take that heart! The Spear of Impaling Barbed Death - Gáe Bolg"
"Pierce, 『Gáe Dearg, Gáe Buidhe』!"
Gáe Bolg, which always aims for the heart, and Gáe Buidhe, which aims for the heart, and Gáe Dearg tried to deflect Gáe Bolg's blade to cancel the reversal of causality. However, realizing it was curving abnormally to aim for his heart, Diarmuid had to deflect Gáe Bolg with his spear blade to avoid being hit in the heart.
As a result... it narrowly missed his heart, but in the process, his right shoulder, which should have been holding the red spear, was ruined.
The ruined shoulder no longer listened to him, and he couldn't even move his arm, but he held onto the red spear without letting go.
And the golden short spear grazed Cú Chulainn's side, not his heart.
It seemed he had focused too much on striking Gáe Bolg's blade, causing his aim to deviate too much.
"This is truly Ulster-like."
"Gáe Bolg, trickier than I thought."
"Even so, I didn't know you'd deflect Gáe Bolg with Gáe Buidhe to temporarily stop the reversal of causality. Impressive. I didn't think you'd be able to block while worrying about two spears..."
Blood flowed from Cú Chulainn's side, but since he was hit by the golden short spear, it wouldn't heal.
But his internal organs didn't spill out.
"Hmm... it goes against my nature to retreat like this, and I'll die from excessive bleeding because of the curse."
"I think I'll die before that, though?"
"Hah? You're exaggerating. Well, compared to what I suffered, yours is severe."
Cú Chulainn smirked and had a question.
"For now, I'd like to talk for a moment. Was the reason you provoked me like that your Master's order? or your personal will to fight?"
"My lord said that Cú Chulainn would appear in this Holy Grail War."
At those words, he induced a provocation as if he knew his personality, and he understood that Diarmuid came to fight him, but he got goosebumps wondering what kind of guy the Master was to see through his identity immediately.
"That's quite scary. Even before seeing my face, he wouldn't know who was summoned..."
"He was an abnormal person even in the 4th Holy Grail War."
"Yeah, I can see that."
"It's absurd to have your Command Spells and Master qualification stolen, but he wasn't a villain. That much is certain. He was the type who seemed to predict the future but also not, making it hard to even read his thoughts."
"Hah... is that so. I don't know how this Holy Grail War will turn out."
"Probably... you will lose. It's a structure where you have no choice but to lose."
"....The reason you assert that is because you're certain. You're saying it, but would it hurt to speak clearly?"
"At least you won against an unreasonable situation... I should say I've said all I can say."
"Tsk, why don't you just make a conscience confession."
And the two gripped their red spears, dropped the golden short spear to the ground, and shouted at the same time.
"For the glory of the Fianna Knights!"
And the red spear held in one hand and the red spear held in two hands clashed.
Even if it was disadvantageous, Diarmuid was a skilled warrior who could wield a spear in one hand.
Even so, he was not pushed back.
As their spears clashed, Cú Chulainn, whose bleeding didn't stop, began to move faster the more he bled.
"This is the end!"
And just as he was about to finish it, Cú Chulainn lost his balance due to the spear at his feet, creating an opening, and Diarmuid aimed for that opening.
"Oh no!"
And Cú Chulainn quickly blocked the red spear, and at the same time, they pierced each other with their red spears.
"Cough, magnificent..."
"Magnificent my ass... Makes me think of Fionn mac Cumhaill. Well, compared to that guy, you're on the magnificent side, though. Ptooey."
Cú Chulainn's spear pierced Diarmuid's heart, and Diarmuid's spear created a hole in Cú Chulainn's stomach, not his chest.
"Well, don't you have a wish?"
"As for that, I achieved it a long time ago... With pride as a knight..."
And dropping the disappearing spear he held, Diarmuid died with a smile.
"Tsk, is it because he's incarnated? ᚨ (Ansuz), a life without regrets... It seems the Master who stole him isn't a bad guy either. Seeing him smiling like this."
And so, Diarmuid burned up, and the ashes disappeared with the wind.
"Phew, I'm going to get scolded by Master."
Cú Chulainn healed the injuries he sustained from the start with runes.
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