[Achilles' running speed did not slow, if anything, it accelerated. Just like the spear he had just thrown, he surged forward like a comet.]
["Ooooooh!"]
[Faced with the charging warrior, Atalanta braced herself. Would he grab the spear? Try to break her neck? Tear out her heart? Smash her skull? Go ahead and try.]
[Don't think you can defeat her so easily. She was the Calydonian Beast. As long as this curse remained, she would never die.]
[But Achilles' actions defied her expectations.]
[He grabbed Atalanta's neck with one hand and seized the boar's hide draped over her body with the other.]
["Shut up and stop defiling her."]
[Even with his body shattered, Achilles refused to let go. With sheer force, he tore away the filthy, corrupted skin.]
[The torn hide convulsed violently for a moment before disintegrating into dust.]
Tohsaka Rin: "So Achilles never intended to kill Atalanta. His goal was to bring her back to herself."
Waver: "Even if she recovers, it's meaningless. The Atalanta in this video is already beyond saving."
Sisigou: "A mutual death... so that's what it means."
Achilles: "Hahaha, it's fine, big sister. I'll go with you."
Atalanta: "You fool..."
[With the loss of her Noble Phantasm, The Calydonian Boar of Divine Punishment, Atalanta finally regained her senses. For the first time, she saw clearly the person in front of her.]
["Rider..."]
["Big sister, I'm sorry. I was too late."]
[Atalanta felt lost. Why had she fought him? Why had they been forced into this battle?]
[Because she had donned that Noble Phantasm, because she believed it was the right path.]
["Ahem... Big sister, I think your dream is beautiful. Even though you know better than anyone that it's an impossible dream, the fact that you keep chasing it makes you beautiful too."]
[Achilles laughed. "But you went astray. This path was never going to lead to your dream. Instead of pushing forward, you should have turned back."]
[Atalanta whispered in anguish: "That kind of person doesn't exist... Someone like that... doesn't exist."]
Tohsaka Rin: "So we still don't know what Atalanta's wish was?"
Atalanta: "...I wanted to create a world where children would never be bullied and could live happily."
Everyone: "..."
Waver: "That wish is far too idealistic."
In this world, countless children suffered, poverty, illness, the absence of parents, broken families, school bullying. These things happened every single day, all over the world.
To call Atalanta's wish "idealistic" was putting it nicely. To be blunt, it was nothing more than a fantasy.
It was no different from Emiya Kiritsugu's or Amakusa Shirou's dream of world peace.
Perhaps that was why Atalanta had chosen to fight alongside Amakusa Shirou.
Achilles: "...Big sister, I'm sorry."
Atalanta: "Are you going to stand in my way too?"
[Achilles: "Well... it's hard, isn't it? We're both hurting."]
[Atalanta: "...Then what am I supposed to do? Should I abandon those children? Should I accept being defeated by Ruler?"]
[Achilles: "..."]
[Atalanta: "If abandoning those children is the 'right' choice... If wanting to protect them is a 'mistake'... then this world is cursed—"]
Jeanne: "...You're not wrong. And neither am I."
Jeanne: "None of us are wrong."
Atalanta: "..."
She knew Jeanne spoke the truth. But despite that, she still resented her.
This was something Atalanta had to reconcile on her own. No one else could help her.
In the original timeline, it wasn't until she was summoned to Chaldea and encountered the Crowned Beauty of Guda that Atalanta finally let go of her regrets.
[Achilles: "...Even so, I don't want to see you fall."]
["Idiot. I think this is fine."]
[Atalanta smiled bitterly. "Since you've fallen too, you'll never spread your wings and fly again."]
[As her body began to fade, something warm slid down her cheek.]
[It was Achilles. At the end of his life, he wept like a child.]
["I never thought I'd be sent off by your tears."]
[Atalanta lifted a hand, wanting to wipe them away but she could no longer move.]
["Did you get what you wished for? Should we go together?"]
[Achilles: "I'll go to hell with you… if a guy like me is even worthy."]
[Atalanta chuckled. "You really are the son of Peleus."]
[In an age where rudeness and savagery were the norm, and heroes strode across battlefields without hesitation, Peleus had been the only hero timid enough to value caution. He had thought his son's temperament was completely opposite to his own.]
[But now, it was clear, both of them had always been men who, despite flaunting their strength, were gentle at heart.]
["Big sister, do you have any regrets?"]
["Yes… but they don't matter anymore."]
[As if by mutual agreement, they vanished from the world at the same time.]
Waver: "...What a strangely fulfilling ending."
Illya: "Achilles, are you trying to steal a woman from your father?"
Atalanta: "???"
Achilles: "???"
Whose daughter was this? Could she stop talking?
The moment had been so emotional, and now she'd ruined the atmosphere.
Achilles: "Please don't say that. My respect for Big Sister is genuine!"
Illya: "Really? But you didn't cry that much when Chiron died."
Illya: "Could it be… you actually look down on your teacher?"
Chiron: "???"
Achilles: "Σ(っД;)っ"
Achilles: "That's nonsense! Teacher, she's slandering me!"
Chiron: "...Ahem, it's fine. Your teacher understands."
Irisviel: "Illya! Are you slacking off in class again?"
Illya: "Oops, I've been caught! (^?^*)"
---
[Meanwhile, Jeanne d'Arc had successfully reached the palace—the chamber where the Greater Holy Grail was enshrined.]
[There, she found Semiramis, who had retreated earlier.]
["If you want the Grail, you'll have to get through me first. …Or at least, I should say that—"]
[Semiramis flicked her fingers, and the wall beside her vanished, revealing a hidden doorway.]
["Go through there. Head down. The Greater Holy Grail is below."]
[Jeanne: "Huh? What did you just say?"]
[What kind of development was this? Was she about to defect too?]
["Don't overthink it. I'm simply following my Master's orders."]
[Semiramis leaned lazily against her throne. "Don't worry, Red Caster is waiting for you down there."]
[Jeanne frowned. She sensed no hostility from Semiramis.]
[That meant she wasn't lying.]
[Was she really so confident that Red Caster could handle her?]
Shakespeare: "Oh dear, you want me to fight the Saint?"
Shakespeare: "Really? I'm just a writer, you know. I have no combat ability."
Jeanne: "Heh..."
Tohsaka Rin: "Don't you feel guilty saying that?"
Chihiro: "If you hadn't left first last night, I definitely would have beaten you up."
Everyone was well aware of Shakespeare's abilities, they were downright obnoxious.
Even Jeanne shook her head slightly in the video, knowing that she was in for a difficult battle.
[Jeanne: "Then, farewell forever in this life."]
["Goodbye, Ruler. You are such a dull saint. Wait for your destruction."]
[Semiramis smirked arrogantly and nodded.]
[Jeanne ignored the provocation, pushed open the door, and stepped out.]
[Once Jeanne had left, Semiramis' smirk faded.]
[She had considered disobeying orders to keep Jeanne here, but she sensed that Mordred's group was approaching.]
[Fighting one opponent was fine, but dealing with two at once would be troublesome.]
["Caster, Ruler is heading your way. The rest is up to you. Figure out how to stall for time until Shirou returns. I have my own battle to fight."]
[With that, Semiramis cut off the communication. She had no interest in listening to one of Shakespeare's long-winded monologues.]
[She glanced at the sword wound on her shoulder, her expression darkening.]
[She would reclaim her honor—right now.]
Mordred: "Well, looks like it's time to settle things once and for all."
Semiramis: "Yes, take a good look at yourself in defeat."
Mordred: "Hah! What nonsense! You'll be the one kneeling on the ground, crying in the end!"
Semiramis: "We shall see."
Sisigou: "..."
Unlike Mordred, he wasn't so optimistic.
He hadn't forgotten Semiramis' class—Assassin.