The Servant who had issued the challenge was at the seaside park - it was Lancer, also known as Diarmuid.
Scathach spotted him first and they fought.
Like Scathach, Lancer was skilled with twin spears. He spun the long and short spears dangerously in his hands, and even his Master Kayneth had complete confidence in him.
But then...
Well actually, there was no "then." Scathach just straight up poked him to death in three strikes.
Sure, Diarmuid was super strong, but unfortunately for him, no one surpassed Scathach when it came to Irish spear fighting. She had personally taught most of the techniques used by Irish heroes, including the great Cu Chulainn.
Basically, it was a bunch of disciples and granddisciples showing off, before running into their ancestral master...
"I see...this spearmanship that leads you straight to death's door...you are the Queen of the Shadows Land..."
With those final words, Diarmuid, his core pierced by Scathach's three strikes, faded away.
"No--!" Kayneth cried out in despair, his Holy Grail journey was over.
Scathach was taking her leave when Irisviel arrived with Saber.
"Scathach, so it's you!" Artoria looked utterly shocked.
"Indeed, it's been awhile, Artoria," Scathach smiled.
Artoria tightened her grip on her sword, eyeing Scathach warily. "I didn't think you'd be summoned for this Holy Grail War. I remember you shouldn't have died!"
"Well, I didn't die. But I did participate in this Holy Grail War and I intend to win. So, sorry, Artoria. No matter what wish you have, I won't show any mercy."
Artoria's gaze hardened. "I wouldn't dream of it."
Irisviel asked nervously, "Um, is she a strong servant, Saber?"
"She's incredibly strong," Artoria replied, her expression solemn. "Scathach was one of the Knights of the Round Table back in Camelot. She was my mentor, and the queen of the Shadows Land. To be frank, Irisviel, I don't stand much of a chance against her in a straight fight with my Saber Class."
Artoria's mind drifted back over 1500 years, to when Scathach had arrived in Cornwall trying to cause trouble. Only by joining forces - Artoria, the Knights of the Round Table, Morgan le Fay, and Merlin - had they managed to suppress the mighty warrior queen.
In the end, Eternal King made Scathach an offer she couldn't refuse. Scathach pledged her loyalty as a Knight of Camelot, becoming the mentor who trained their spearmen. Even Artoria's own skill with the spear was thanks to Scathach's tutelage.
So she harbored no illusions about this fight. In sheer martial talent, she was outmatched.
Scathach's expression hardened. "If you won't make the first move, then I will!"
Artoria gritted her teeth. She stepped forward swiftly, swinging her holy sword with all her might. Magical energy erupted forth as the blade sliced down with the force of a thousand tons.
Seeing her opening, Scathach shifted her stance ever so slightly. Her right spear deftly guided Artoria's sword aside while her left darted forth like a viper toward Saber's heart.
Danger! Saber instinctively stepped back, but her forward momentum left her off balance. She couldn't help but grunt as the spear grazed her chest. Then came a loud crack - although she'd mostly dodged, Scathach's spear had sliced open her sword hand. Blood flowed freely from the deep cut.
Hissing in pain, she quickly retreated while Irisviel moved to heal her injury.
Scathach didn't pursue, instead laughing lightly. "You still leave yourself too open, Artoria."
Artoria's expression was solemn. "And you are as strong as ever, Scathach. No, even stronger it seems. Your technique is even more effortless and refined than I remember."
"Hmm. I think I understand the enlightenment the king mentioned, but something still doesn't feel complete," Scathach mused. "That said, in terms of fighting skills, I could easily take down my past self from 1500 years ago now. So watch yourself."
Artoria clenched her fists, steeling herself.
Nearby, Kiritsugu observed the exchange carefully, sensing the immense power from Scathach. His first instinct was to eliminate her Master - but after scouring the surroundings extensively, even discovering the hidden Assassin, Shirou was nowhere to be found.
And for good reason - Shirou was forty kilometers away at that moment, observing the seaside battle through the observatory's telescope.
He deliberately sent Scathach to fight in person, using her as bait to gather battle data, while he watched from afar to collect information.
Artoria was no match for Scathach at all. Then Iskandar appeared, putting a stop to the fight between the two women while also luring out Gilgamesh.
As soon as Gilgamesh appeared, he questioned why Scathach was the Caster. However, what greeted Gilgamesh in response were Scathach's twin spears.
The playful Gilgamesh was no match for Scathach, who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts. His barrage of Noble Phantasms was directly absorbed into the Gate of Skye.
Blasted off a lamp post by her attack, Gilgamesh even suffered a scar on his face. This instantly enraged the proud king, who became serious. No longer bombarding randomly with Noble Phantasms, he started utilizing their special properties to attack Scathach.
And this imposed great restraints on the warrior queen. The endless onslaught of Noble Phantasms, from dimensional distortions to causal attacks to pure magical artillery, placed tremendous pressure on her.
However, she was after all still Scathach. As the God Slayer, she already held an advantage over the demigod Gilgamesh.
Relying purely on her martial prowess, Scathach dodged Gilgamesh's bombardments then started suppressing him. When Gilgamesh pulled back to draw Ea, Scathach hurled a spear directly at him. He reflexively pulled his hand back rather than lose his arm.
Scathach summoned another spear to maintain pressure on the King of Heroes. Gilgamesh's gaze grew colder and more focused in mindset and temperament. But then, Tokiomi summoned him back.
Earlier, while Scathach and Gilgamesh were fighting, Artoria had already retreated with Irisviel. Seeing Gilgamesh take his leave, Iskandar withdrew as well.
On the first night, Scathach eliminated Diarmuid, and that was it.
Having gathered enough intelligence, Shirou prepared to initiate his own plans.
That night, concerned for Kayneth, Kiritsugu directly shot and killed the distraught magus and his fiancée Sola. He then bombed the building they were in.
Shirou devised a scheme, going to the police station and hypnotizing the officers into issuing an APB for Kiritsugu. He and Scathach then laid an ambush at the station, anticipating the magus may come.
Sure enough, that afternoon Kiritsugu secretly infiltrated the station and fell right into their trap. He was shocked to have fallen into a trap and immediately used a Command Spell to summon Artoria.
She fought with Scathach, but with her previous injuries still fresh and her skill below the queen's mastery. Not to mention her Noble Phantasm required time to charge. Unsurprisingly then, Scathach needed just three minutes to pierce through Artoria's heart.
Artoria disappeared with a look of anguish, pleading in her last moments for Scathach to spare Irisviel.
Scathach promised she would.
Artoria vanished completely.
Then, Scathach stabbed Kiritsugu to death.
Shirou obtained Kiritsugu's RPG and hypnotized reporters and TV stations, creating public pressure on the Tohsaka family.
Left with no choice, Tokiomi had to accept an interview.
Seizing this chance, Shirou remotely bombarded the Church from afar with the RPG.
The hiding Kirei and his father Risei were killed.
Now Masterless, Assassin was restrained by Scathach as Shirou formed a contract and recruited the Servant.
The next night, Shirou dispatched Scathach to invade Waver's workshop.
She was so powerful that Iskandar had no choice but to activate Ionian Hetairoi.
But just as the Reality Marble was about to fully manifest, Shirou raised his arm, using a Command Spell to recall Scathach and wasting one use of Iskandar's Noble Phantasm.
After Iskandar's Ionian Hetairoi dispersed, Shirou sent Scathach to invade Waver's workshop again and repeated the ploy, forcing out Iskandar's second Ionian Hetairoi.
He then ordered Assassin to assassinate Waver.
At this point, Iskandar finally understood what was going on.
They were trying to deplete every last use of his Ionian Hetairoi!
Sure, as long as the Noble Phantasm wasn't destroyed, it could be used an unlimited number of times. But due to the constraints of mana and his Master's aptitude, it couldn't be used frequently.
Even with Ionian Hetairoi, after two activations that drained huge amounts of mana, he probably only had enough for one more use.
"Scathach's Master... what an outstanding strategist. I want him so much." Iskandar murmured, stroking his chin. He didn't feel angry, just impressed that this Shirou guy had come up with such a good scheme. He really wanted the kid on his team now.
Too bad he already had a big problem staring him in the face.
He could either use Ionian Hetairoi to wipe out the 300+ Assassins and stop this invasion, only to then be killed by Scathach. Or...he could watch his Master be killed, and then be eliminated himself soon after.
This was really a...
Brilliant and genius plan!