Part 53: Hunter of the Red Plains - Nameless - Part 2

Nameless 2



W-Well, in my defense, while Kiritsugu's outfit may be the attire of a seasoned, professional operator, EMIYA wouldn't be much without his ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Sometimes you just want to break free, you know? Nameless stage 2 is based on Flame Poem stage 4, so your primary opponents will be Iskandar (with his "conquering Sectors increases his power" gimmick and Jeanne d'Arc.

So, a bit about EMIYA's legacy. He has...quite a long pedigree. In fact, as a fun fact, he was the first-ever Servant seen in this franchise, his first appearance being after Rin summoned him during the prologue of Fate/stay night. In that game, he was a prominent entity in all three routes. In the Fate route, he was an antagonistic, but mostly easy-going guy who aided his Master and Shirou by standing against the seemingly-immortal Heracles at a crucial moment, and while he eventually got torn to shreds by the mad Servant, he didn't go down without killing Heracles a few times.

In the Unlimited Blade Works route, this was his major role in the story. During the course of the plot as it develops here, EMIYA acts more and more as a chief antagonist, climaxing in the moment when he confronts Shirou about his identity and the the climax of the plot is him confronting Shirou about their respective ideals. In the final route, Heaven's Feel, he takes a somewhat minor role, with his most important contribution being lending Shirou his arm that allows his alter ego to somewhat match his projection ability. After FSN, he returned in the pseudo-sequel, Fate/hollow ataraxia. He missed out on the next two major entries in the franchise, Fate/zero and Fate/apocrypha, before returning in the EXTRA series, starting with the very first. And, of course, he's a summonable Servant by the protagonist in Grand Order. So he's a guy who's been around the block a few times.

Like quite a few other Servants, EMIYA was recently (as of a year ago), given an evil counterpart. EMIYA Alter was released alongside the Shinjuku chapter in Grand Order's story. The backstory with him is in that, in an alternate timeline, EMIYA was summoned to deal with Kiara, the pleasure-loving antagonist of CCC, and the following she had accumulated. While EMIYA generally feels no problem with killing people to accomplish his ultimate objective, this assignment was far and beyond what he was used to, and after slaughtering so many of Kiara's followers, turned into an evil mockery of his former self. His skin was further blackened by extensive use of projection magic, and he abandoned his swords to replace them with similarly-colored firearms, which makes it easier for him to kill larger numbers of people faster than before.

Basically, while EMIYA plays by his own rules in regards to how his mission is carried out, he's not the type to kill wantonly or involve people who don't need to be involved. EMIYA Alter is all of his moral restraints lifted, with all pride and honor as a Heroic Spirit replaced to finish the job by any means necessary.


Nameless stage 2

(We're getting close to the root of all this, but the problem is...)

Oh. So you ARE here, Mr. No-Name. The battle is about to start. Shouldn't you be at the side of our King?

"Archer" is fine, Archimedes. I'm more comfortable being called that.

Not fond of your true name, are you? To say you'd rather be called by your class, even outside of a Holy Grail War.

I wouldn't expect a scholar to understand. Especially some "man behind the curtain" who's never even fought in a Holy Grail War.

Well that's quite harsh. But you do understand that I am a Heroic Spirit as well? Perhaps I was in a Holy Grail War, at least once, in a place you're not aware of...

You haven't. The Hero Archimedes has never participated in a Holy Grail War. Or, to be more accurate...fighting in a Holy Grail War takes a certain understanding of others, which you don't have. You wouldn't even care about who you're fighting with or against. Am I wrong, Archimedes of Syracuse?

...Well, then.

What are you two doing?! Having a little rendezvous behind the tent? When did you become so friendly? This battle has begun! Archer, I command you to stop that giant...thing! Immediately!

The Emperor has spoken. It sounds like we have more to say to each other, but for now, let's go to war, scholar.

...Of course. I look forward to seeing your performance, Mr. No Name.



So it's this stage again, with Li Shuwen handling the Sector nearest to where you start, at the bottom of the map, and Iskandar roaming about. Nameless has a particularly easy time here, as the heavy Aggressors are particularly vulnerable to his long-range prowess. Just remember that these guys can haul their big asses into the sky to jump at you, but even so, staying fast on your feet and paying attention will completely neuter the threat.



When it comes to fighting powerful enemies like Iskandar, keep in mind that most of EMIYA's strength comes from his ability to deal with crowds, and he's a bit vulnerable when it comes to fighting powerful enemies in areas like this, with lots of wide-open space and few boundaries to push targets against for ground Caladbolg. This is where his more bread and butter stuff, like S T, S S S T, and the long S combo sequence to fight one-on-one. Like Nero, he kind of struggles in close-range battle, but not so much that you need to wildly compensate. You'll mostly use his long-range attacks in these kinds of setting to harass the target at range.



Li actually took a really long time to finish this fight. I was briefly worried something had gone wrong and he had bitten off a bit more than he could chew. Luckily, that was not necessary. Less luckily, Iskandar chose that moment to reappear, and so I had to go bail Li out anyway.

After I take out that enemy Plant in the top right.



EMIYA's long S combo is another reference to a particular staple of his, slashing a bunch with his swords, then throwing a copy around his enemy's back like boomerangs, then projecting another pair and hitting the enemy from two directions at once. It's pretty sweet, actually, and does a pretty good amount of damage.



Well, victory is ours, with all Sectors taken, but we've still got Jeanne and Iskandar to take care of. Unfortunately, we'll have to do it by ourselves, since Iskandar wouldn't chase me back to Li's Sector, and I don't trust my ability to take out Jeanne before Iskandar takes this area.

Also, I didn't use Nameless' Noble Phantasm in the last episode, and I won't be using it in this, but trust me, I won't forget in Stage 3. It is probably the best Noble Phantasm animation in the game, after all.



So we're familiar with the 7 regular classes, how about the Extra Classes? Well, there's a lot, at this point in the franchise. We know of Jeanne's status as an impartial mediator of Grail Wars (the Ruler class), but there are also Avengers (Heroic Spirits of vengeance), Moon Cancer (BB's class from CCC, basically a glitch within the Moon Cell), Saver / Savior (the final boss of Fate/EXTRA was Buddha, so far the only Saver-class Servant in this series, though it's not hard to imagine other candidates), Alter Ego (a very odd class. Basically it's like alternate personalities of established entities. They're like personifications of wishes and such), and as of December 2017, the Foreigner class. The last one are a really special bunch, being individuals who have come into contact with eldritch gods and maintained some degree of their sanity while still wielding their power.

The last one at the moment is Shielder, but Mashu Kyrielight from Grand Order is more of a case unto herself than a particularly established class. She represents a Heroic Spirit of the shield, but is basically a normal human using someone else's power. As a fun aside, the Shielder class was originally supposed to appear in Fate/stay night, but that didn't pan out, and Shielder had to wait 11 years to make its debut.



King of Conquerors, Iskandar! I get it, this was your intention from the start!

Yes, I have set the requirements of victory. Prepare yourself, Archer!



This isn't actually a part of the above conversation (though it's really cool that conversation is in the game. Both Jeanne and Iskandar have to be standing for it to happen, obviously), but I appreciated EMIYA's sarcasm here, while on low health.

Shortly after this line, I managed to defeat Iskandar. Good thing, too, because it was proving pretty dicey fighting both of these goons at once.



...This is why you don't use Caladbolg at close range.



Independent Action, baby. Well, I don't know if this is a result from the Install Skills I put in, but it definitely worked out if it was a result. Jeanne didn't last too long after that.



Jeanne nearly knocked me out of EX rank, but I just barely hung in there.



Even your True Name Discernment doesn't do much to me, since I'm just a placeholder for someone without much of a backstory. But maybe you could enlighten me instead. Why would you help Altera...? Never mind that, why would you join up with that Planet? Didn't SE.RA.PH summon you as a guardian?

You know of the Planet... Who exactly are you?

Like I said, I'm no one. I'm a John Doe.

Did you know the name "John Doe" originated during the Middle Ages? England, to be exact, with Wikipedia telling me it may date back as far as the 1320s. Speaking of nicknames, "La Pucelle" (The Maid) is indeed a real world epithet for Joan of Arc.

John Doe... Someone who does not exist in this world...! So did SE.RA.PH summon you as a Hero as well?

Summoned, well, "summoned"... It would be a load off my mind if I HAD been summoned on purpose, but... Well, that's my problem, not yours. Let me figure that one out. Let's talk more about you, Ruler. Why are you aligned with Altera? Did she place some sort of geas on you?

A geas is a special binding among Celtic warriors. Cu Chulainn mentions them a few times, and it's basically a magical oath binding a Celt's conduct, but the concept exists far outside of Ireland in the TM universe. Going against a geas usually ends pretty badly for the offending party.

...No, this is my decision. There's still a chance for the Hero Altera to survive. It won't solve the root of the problem just to defeat her. That is what the voice tells me.

Hm. Is that what you call the voice of God?

Unfortunately, no. It is something that my own hesitation... Something that my own heart feels.

So that's it. Not an edict from SE.RA.PH or the one you believe in, but something of your own intuition. Then I can leave that in your hands without any worries. A Guardian's decisions are always wise, but the bigger decisions usually result in a mass wipe of SE.RA.PH. And if that happens, it'll ruin the new world we've built here. Let's put that option aside for now. I'll leave Altera to you and go on searching. Goodbye, Ruler. If we happen to meet again, pretend you don't know me.

Oh... No, wait just a moment! All talk aside, you and I still have a score to settle!