Playable Archer (Fate/Extra)


 * This article is about the Fate/Extra (CCC) Servant. For the alternate version of the Fate/stay night and Fate/hollow ataraxia Servant, see Archer.

Archer (アーチャー) is the Archer-class Servant available to be chosen by Hakuno Kishinami in the Moon Cell Holy Grail War in Fate/Extra and Fate/Extra CCC.

Identity
A hero with no name. An unknown Heroic Spirit.

The end of the one who spent his previous life as a personifier of justice. The person who became the source for this Heroic Spirit certainly exists, but by the time he was worshiped as a hero, his name as a human had been completely forgotten from people's memories and history.

Archer is described as being of the same 'existence' as the Archer of Fate/stay night, but not the same 'person.' Furthermore, the 'True Name' under which he attained effective functionality as a Heroic Spirit differs from that of Fate/stay night's Archer as well.

The Ally of Justice
In his previous life, he was a mere wizard just like the Masters who participated in the Holy Grail War. Not as versatile as Rin Tohsaka, but apparently possessing a Magic Circuit specialized in a single thing.

He put into practice the "ally of justice" that many people dream about, but when faced with a disaster that could not be solved with just his own powers, he sold over his "self after death" to the Moon Cell as compensation for a miracle. As a result, he is thus employed as the concept of "ally of justice" after death, as a Servant instead of a hero.

As for the human who became his source, there is a person who walked on in the past like that, but he is no longer said individual. This Heroic Spirit is the shape of a convenient "ally of justice" that people desired, which started with the shape of that person.

Last Act of Heroism
The following is a conversation between Archer and the main character, in which he explains what his "last time saving everyone" was like:

"One of the cores of a nuclear power plant melted down. Someone had to go into the core to try to stop it. All I did on my own was get inside the core. Including bypassing security, it was a lot like... Well, picture running through ten levels of the Arena in less than an hour."

"He says all of this like it was no big deal. I can't quite imagine how deadly the situation was, but the words "nuclear meltdown" are a pretty good indication that any sensible person would've run away.

... Oh. Well, at least he got one heck of a tan from it!"

"Ha. Ha. Ha. I don't think even Rin Tohsaka is capable of saying something so heartless and cruel. I got like this using thaumaturgy, not because I was toasted by radiation. Are you done insulting me?"

"He seems genuinely angry. It's times like this that I have to endure Archer's grizzled old man lectures. ... But at least I got an answer out of him. Archer is actually a hero, even if he doesn't think so himself."

The End of Archer
Even though Archer was blessed with close friends, a loving family and an understanding lover, his life was not as ideal as it seemed. His friends soon came to realize that he would strike down evil no matter what form it manifested in. His best friend (who is left anonymous) began to worry that Archer might become a threat to himself and the friends that he cherished, so he decided to turn him in to the police. In the end, it was the human court system, not some evil force or nefarious villain, that spelled the end of the man that would become Archer. Tried for the various crimes he had committed in the name of justice, Archer accepted all of the consequences for his actions- if he pled non-guilty, it would amount to disgracing the deaths of those he was forced to sacrifice. In the final moments before his execution, Archer began to regret that he would not be able to die as a hero, but merely as a criminal. It was then that Archer made a contract with the Moon Cell and became the nameless Heroic Spirit: a mere representation of the ideal of justice.

Appearance
Archer has the same overall appearance as his counterpart. His main outfit in Fate/Extra CCC is something he is embarrassed to be seen wearing, noting that he definitely did not choose to wear it. If Hakuno compliments him on it, he changes his mind very quickly, nothing that he had always wanted to wear that kind of clothing during his lifetime. He had a female acquaintance tell him “Rock style doesn’t suit you, so knock it off, seriously.”, so he had avoided such clothing since then. Pleased with the praise, he thinks that he should show off even more skin.

Personality
His personality is based on his counterpart, though he is noted in Fate/Extra CCC as being less cynical.

Fate/Extra
Archer is one of the selectable Servants in Fate/Extra along with Saber and Caster.

Fate/Extra CCC
It is noted when he is the servant of the female Hakuno Kishinami, Meltlilith will fall in love with him in her own deranged manner. She would mention his "Body of Steel" on occasion.

The Hero of Wrought Iron
This is the title given to the one who in his previous life was involved with many weapons, tempered them, and produced weapons for many swordsmen and soldiers. The proof that this Archer was a human suitable not for battle, but rather manufacture.

The weapons that he uses are manufactured by a Magecraft called Projection. Both the swords in his hands and the swords he creates by means of a Skill are imitations analyzed and reproduced from the basic structure of the originals.

Kanshou & Bakuya
A pair of married swords that Archer favors. Their performance as swords is high, but they also possess an aspect as a mystic armament for divination and ceremonial uses. Originating in the Spring and Autumn Period of China, it seems they are counterfeits of the work by the craftsman Gān Jiàng, who was widely known in ancient China.

Rho Aias (Seven Rings of Heaven)
Archer's ultimate defense that cancels the opponent's move.

Unlimited Blade Works
Not a weapon, but rather a Reality Marble, a type of Magecraft that embodies the mental world of the caster and, even if just temporarily, rewrites reality. It is a special Magecraft described as a great forbidden spell, and there are exceedingly few who have learned it. "Unlimited Blade Works" is a faraway land that the wizard who specialized in tempering swords finally arrived at by wagering his life. All the weapons he saw that hold the concept of "sword" are stored in this Reality Marble. While this is active, his abilities are greatly enhanced, and in Fate/Extra CCC, he has access to Excalibur Image: The Forever Distant Golden Sword.

Fate / Extra material notes that Noble Phantasms replicated under Unlimited Blade Works are degraded from their originals by one rank, similar to the circumstances of the Archer of Fate/stay night. However, though Playable Archer would in principle be normally incapable of tracing items of no inherent rankability (ergo, EX Rank Noble Phantasms), it becomes possible for him to do so with the support of the original owners of said items.