Skill: Aesthetics of the Last Spurt Rank: C
Allows the enemy to take the initiative, after which she can act preemptively upon confirming the enemy's actions.
According to legend, after Atalanta's adventures aboard the Argo and her hunt for the Calydonian Boar, her fame spread far and wide, attracting numerous suitors. Annoyed by the constant proposals and having sworn a vow of chastity to the moon goddess, Atalanta decided to settle matters with a race.
If you win, I'll marry you; if you lose, I will shoot you.
Every time, Atalanta let her opponents start first, yet she remained undefeated until one suitor, aided by divine intervention and trickery, finally won.
Though not as fast as the renowned "fastest human" Achilles, Atalanta is still one of the swiftest in human history. When her skill is activated, her movements surpass Chiron's in speed!
While she hasn't reached the realm of foresight, Atalanta can still use her skill's effect to counter Chiron effectively.
Using Crossing Arcadia for evasive maneuvers and Aesthetics of the Last Spurt for counterattacks—this is the foundation of Atalanta's ability to hold her ground against Chiron.
However, merely holding her ground is the extent of her capability; achieving an advantage or victory is out of the question.
Chiron's raw power surpasses Atalanta's, and he has no apparent weaknesses. Despite the prolonged pursuit and shootout, Atalanta hasn't found a single opening to exploit.
Slightly delaying Chiron's movements, Atalanta continues to maneuver through the forest as she has been doing.
This seemingly aimless wandering has a clear purpose if viewed from above and traced on a map—she is aiming to reunite with Achilles.
When unable to take down the prey alone, joining forces with others for the hunt is the most natural course of action for a hunter who cares little for pride or honor.
Her first thought was of her friend's son, Achilles, who calls her "big sister." With numerous Noble Phantasms, immense strength, and his nigh invincible immortality, teaming up with him gives Atalanta confidence in taking down the troublesome Black Archer, even if the Black Assassin joins in.
Thus, upon realizing she couldn't defeat Chiron, Atalanta began methodically moving toward Achilles. For most Servants, this would be an impossible task. While two archers exchanged arrows, Shinji had already taken Achilles off the battlefield, far beyond the sensory range of ordinary Servants, even out of the scope of the Archer class's "Clairvoyance."
Finding Achilles under such conditions would require either Ruler-class level sensory capabilities or some special skill, Noble Phantasm, or technique—and Atalanta happened to possess the latter.
Atalanta has a skill known as "Wild Instinct," not listed on her Servant status sheet but one of her most crucial abilities. This instinct, honed through endless hunting, is further amplified by her cursed beast ears and tail.
Thanks to this ability, her hearing, vision, smell, touch, and intuition far exceed human limits.
Can't see him? Can't sense his mana?
No problem, I can track him by scent.
While many know that dogs have an incredibly keen sense of smell, few realize that cats aren't far behind. With her feline ears and tail, Atalanta can easily sniff out Achilles' location.
As the scent grew stronger and she was about to pinpoint Achilles' exact position, a warm, mellow voice suddenly reached her ears.
("Archer.")
"What is it, Father?" Atalanta's ears twitched slightly as she recognized the voice—Father Shirou.
The situation on the Red side is currently very peculiar. Except for the independently acting Saber group, all the Masters, apart from Father Shirou, are missing. They only communicate through the master-servant contract when giving orders, and the five Servants, including Atalanta, don't even know what their Masters look like.
In this final battle, their Masters have delegated command to the only visible Master, Father Shirou, under the pretense of unified control. Semiramis even used the power of the Hanging Gardens to create a wide-area communication network centered around Shirou.
"I want Spartacus to attack the Ruler. Please guide him."
"But the Black Archer?"
Upon hearing Shirou's command, Atalanta reflexively glanced at Chiron behind her, shrinking her body.
An almost invisible, silent arrow, blended with the night, grazed her beast ears. The sensation of the arrow brushing against her fur made Atalanta's tail stand on end.
With the Black Archer in relentless pursuit, she couldn't spare any effort to carry out Shirou's order.
"Don't worry, Assassin will assist you. Listen to me, lie down now!"
Without time to think, Atalanta leaned forward, pressing her entire body, including her tail, tightly against the ground.
Chiron, following behind, was momentarily puzzled. Suddenly, he noticed a purple glow cutting through the sky, its terrifying magical energy posing a deadly threat.
As he flipped to dodge, a cluster of purple magical energy swept past, leaving a ghastly scar on the ground. And this was just the beginning; more and denser clusters of magical energy followed.
Point shots, scatter shots, rapid shots, sweeping shots, explosive shots, and bombardments—the storm of attacks forced Chiron into frantic evasion, unable to counterattack, feeling utterly frustrated.
By the time he managed to withstand the barrage, Atalanta had already turned into a tiny dot—a small point in his A-rank "Clairvoyance."
Did she run?
No, the situation isn't dire enough to require cover for an escape. With her strength, she could have coordinated with the previous attack to counterattack me.
But she didn't, which means... she has something more important to do, like supporting a teammate or executing some tactical strategy.
No, I can't let her leave just like that.
The wise and farsighted Chiron took a deep breath, fully drawing his longbow, and pouring an immense amount of mana from his homunculus battery into the arrow without any concern for consumption.
However, before he could release the arrow, a new wave of magical attacks descended from the sky.
Helplessly, Chiron redirected his shot into the sky, colliding with one of the incoming magical clusters.
The heavy earth-like mana and the eerie purple cluster exploded together, creating a dazzling two-colored firework in the dark sky.
The scattering fragments of mana illuminated the forest at the battlefield's edge, Chiron's solemn face, and a pair of azure-gray wings soaring in the sky.
"What is that?"
A touch of pink appeared in Chiron's vision at some unknown time.