Looking at the confused expression on Irisviel's face, Ryou sighed softly. He formed his right hand into a blade and, with lightning speed, thrust it toward her heart.
Blood splattered.
Irisviel felt only a slight pain in her chest, but soon after, all the strength drained from her body.
Just as her consciousness began to slip into darkness, memories flashed before her eyes, like a life passing in review: her birth from the test tube, meeting Kiritsugu, the birth of Illya, the happy times shared by the three of them, her encounter with Saber...
Her short life played out like a fleeting montage.
She thought she could faintly hear Saber's voice, like that of a wounded lioness.
Turning her head slightly, Irisviel's vision quickly darkened.
Yet, in that instant, her gaze seemed to span the hundred-meter distance, meeting Kiritsugu's eyes, hidden somewhere in the castle.
Her lips moved as if to say something, but her voice was too faint to be heard.
However, even from a hundred meters away, Kiritsugu heard Irisviel's final words:
"I'm sorry, Kiritsugu. I'll go first..."
Saber, as if driven mad, launched a ferocious attack on Lantoria.
Yet, against Lantoria's unyielding defense, as impenetrable as the walls of Camelot, Saber's efforts were in vain.
"Move aside..."
Leaning on her sword, panting heavily, Saber glared furiously at the face before her—a face so similar to her own.
"How can you call yourself a knight when you aid such a despicable villain?!"
Saber shouted her accusation at Lantoria.
But Lantoria remained calm and indifferent.
"I am first and foremost the emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire, and only secondarily a knight."
"You!"
Saber couldn't understand it. How could her counterpart from a parallel world be so different from herself? Their values were worlds apart.
"If you don't move..."
Saber gripped her sword with both hands and slowly raised her Excalibur high.
The storm swirling around the holy sword raged into a violent tempest, revealing the shining golden blade, which had been hidden beneath the Invisible Air enchantment.
Saber was clearly preparing a massive attack, yet Lantoria seemed unconcerned, allowing her to charge up without interruption.
Ether in the air visibly coalesced into countless golden sparks, all converging upon the holy sword.
As the light on Excalibur became blinding, the magical energy stored within reached its peak.
"Excalibur!"
Without hesitation, Saber swung her Excalibur at Lantoria.
For the first time, the holy sword bared its fangs at its master!
As the torrent of light was about to engulf Lantoria, she calmly brought the sword hung at her right side up, using it as a shield.
Although the sword had not yet been drawn, its appearance was almost identical to the Excalibur in Saber's hands.
Even the scabbard radiated a delicate, elven aesthetic, exuding an ornate beauty.
The moment Saber saw the scabbard, her pupils contracted, and she muttered under her breath:
"Avalon..."
The near-invincible defensive Noble Phantasm—so powerful that even the EX-ranked Ea couldn't harm its wielder.
Faced with such a powerful defense, the wisest course of action would be to cease the attack.
But Saber couldn't stop the light beam that was already halfway through its release. She could only grit her teeth and hold on.
Suddenly, the scabbard in Lantoria's hand shattered into countless pieces, transforming into a rainbow-hued barrier that enveloped her entirely.
In the next moment, the torrent of light came crashing down.
Yet, Lantoria, protected by Avalon, seemed to exist in a different world from the raging light. The torrent of light surged around the scabbard's barrier without affecting her at all.
Eventually, the light beam ran out of power and dissipated.
But Avalon, having absorbed the energy from the light beam, acted like a mirror, reflecting the energy back toward Saber.
Having once possessed Avalon herself, Saber knew all too well its properties.
As soon as the light beam had stopped, Saber pushed off with one foot, leaping to the side.
The reflected torrent of light barely missed her, passing by.
The redirected beam then sliced through the ice walls and the castle, cutting everything in its path cleanly in half.
Saber's face darkened. The theft of her scabbard during her lifetime was a stain on her legacy that she could never erase.
Both were Artoria.
Yet, the other one had made Britain the strongest nation in the world at the time.
The Knights of the Round Table had not splintered. The Sword in the Stone had not broken. The scabbard had not been stolen.
And her son was so exceptional.
Both were Artoria, but we are not the same!
The disparity was so immense that even the noble Saber couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy. Human is often like that—the hardest battle is always within oneself.
"Give up. You're destined to fall today. Instead of pinning Britain's fate on the Holy Grail, why not think about how to change it yourself?"
Lantoria spoke coolly.
Saber, looking up at Lantoria seated high on her horse, suddenly felt a surge of anger.
"My pain—someone as fortunate as you could never understand! I must seize the Holy Grail and reset everything!"
Despite knowing she was no match, Saber's fighting spirit surged, as if defeating Lantoria would prove she was right.
A massive amount of magical energy swirled around Saber, circulating within her, and empowering her even further.
"Don't stand in my way! I must claim the Holy Grail!"
Boom!
Saber roared, hurtling toward Lantoria like a cannonball.
Lantoria sighed.
It seemed that the fall of Britain had become a mental block for Saber, and unless she figured it out on her own, no amount of advice would help.
If that's the case...
As the Emperor, Lantoria quickly made her decision.
Her previously calm and deep blue eyes turned sharp, like the edge of a blade.
Without needing a signal, her horse, Dun Stallion, sprang into action. Horse and rider became a flash of white lightning, charging straight toward Saber.
Holy lance and holy sword clashed in midair.
The deafening sound of their collision echoed like a great bell, sending shockwaves surging outward like tidal waves.
The sturdy black ice walls instantly fractured under the pressure, exploding into countless shards!
At the center of the battlefield, only Lantoria remained standing.
It was a complete victory for her.
Saber, as if struck by a speeding train, was sent flying, crashing into the rubble of the castle.
Despite this outcome, Lantoria's expression remained calm, as though it had been inevitable.
And indeed, it was.
Both had the same origins and starting point. Both carried the blood of the Red Dragon and had been blessed by the Lady of the Lake.
Yet, their different experiences had created a gulf between their strengths, as vast as heaven and earth.
Saber was like a newly summoned card, fresh from the gacha pool.
Lantoria, on the other hand, had been fully leveled up to 100, strengthened with Holy Grails, and maxed out with all enhancements.
The reason for such a huge difference lies in just one person.
Naturally, that person is none other than Lantoria's beloved son.
This Holy Britannia Empire's Crown Prince is an absolute maniac when it comes to nurturing. He's incredibly enthusiastic about using all sorts of methods to strengthen Artoria.
Although King Arthur's era was at the tail end of the mythological age, it was still part of that era, where all kinds of rare treasures, divine beasts, and fantastical creatures were abundant.
Thus, this filial Crown Prince led an army eastward and westward, pillaging heavenly materials and earthly treasures, hunting divine and fantastical beasts—all to enhance the Holy Emperor of the Empire: Artoria.
His brilliant exploits could practically be written into a novel.
The Lady of the Lake's blessing?
How could such low-tier stuff be worthy of the Holy Emperor of the Holy Britannia Empire?
Only the Lady of the Lake's sacrifice" would suffice.
And what was with that condescending, charitable attitude?
It just so happened that a certain reckless Flower Magus had been involved in a teacher-student romance and ended up with a bad ending, imprisoned by the Lady of the Lake, Vivian.
So, the Crown Prince directly used the pretext that "The British Isles are the territory of the Holy Britannia Empire. The Lady of the Lake disrespected imperial orders, acted recklessly, and imprisoned the Empire's Court Magician without permission," to launch an attack on Avalon.
This Avalon was not the one with the scabbard of absolute defense but rather the ideal land unreachable by mortals, located on the reverse side of the planet.
However, thanks to a mysterious gem in the Crown Prince's possession, the path to Avalon was easily opened.
All the Ladies of the Lake, including their queen, the fairy Vivian, were captured alive.
As a result, all the treasures stored in Avalon were used by the Crown Prince to strengthen Artoria.
Yet, the Crown Prince was still unsatisfied. He directly forced the fairy queen Vivian to consume 90% of her magical power to permanently bestow an EX-level blessing upon Artoria.
It's worth noting that this magical power came from the very essence of the fairy queen, a completely irreversible loss.
Even more insane was the fact that to strengthen the Red Dragon bloodline within Artoria, the Crown Prince led his army on a worldwide campaign to hunt down dragon species on a massive scale.
Because he could freely traverse between the inner and outer sides of the world, his hunts nearly caused the extinction of dragon species across the entire planet.
In the wake of such frenzied hunts, the dragon bloodline within Artoria was directly strengthened into that of a Dragon Goddess.
In the end, he even set his sights on the vanished gods…
Under the Crown Prince's insane nurturing, Artoria's strength skyrocketed, reaching a level where she could easily defeat gods like Zeus or Odin and rival a certain extremely powerful being.
In this situation, even if Artoria's original Saber self were summoned as a Heroic Spirit, she would still be easily defeated by this enhanced Lantoria.
After all, while Saber's fame is great, in terms of strength, she's at best slightly above average, with many far stronger than her.
But this Artoria, strengthened by the Crown Prince—who is a mad nurturing fanatic and an FGO mobile game player—had already reached a level where she could contend for the Grand Lancer title.
Crash!
A pile of rubble was pushed aside, and Saber struggled to crawl out.
Panting heavily, Saber leaned on her sword with both hands, barely managing to stay upright.
Her once-shining silver armor was now covered in scratches and dust, and her deep blue knight's uniform was torn in several places.
Her blonde hair, once tied up behind her head, had come loose, and blood continually seeped from a wound on her forehead, leaving a bloody trail across her face. The blood-soaked wound forced Saber to close one of her eyes.
Through her blurred vision, she gazed into the distance at the figure seated on horseback, and a sense of despair welled up in her heart.
How could she possibly win against such an opponent?
At that moment, Saber was shocked to find that her connection with Kiritsugu's magical energy had completely been severed.
While Saber was locked in battle with Lantoria, Ryuo, who had taken Irisviel's heart, wasted no time and turned toward Kiritsugu's location with murderous intent.
Although Kiritsugu had the potential to become a Heroic Spirit, he was still just a mortal right now.
While his combat ability was terrifying among magi, Ryou—who had reached the level of a five-star Heroic Spirit—was not an opponent he could defeat.
Using his cheat-like ability, Time Alter, and with Maiya's assistance, Kiritsugu barely dodged one of Ryou's attacks and seized the opportunity to fire his trump card: an Origin Bullet at him.
Kiritsugu's Origin Bullets were crafted from his rib bones through Magecraft. His origin was Sever and Bind, though it didn't mean Repair.
To put it simply, it was like sawing through wood and then using glue or nails to reconnect it, causing irreversible damage to the affected body.
These Origin Bullets were Kiritsugu's ultimate weapon against magi with magic circuits.
His beloved firearm had also been enhanced with various magical spells, greatly increasing its destructive power, muzzle velocity, and accuracy.
Together, these two had already claimed the lives of dozens of magi.
But it was all for nothing.
The bullet, which should have caused devastating damage, simply deflected when it hit Ryou's face. It bounced off. It bounced off. It bounced off…
On the side, Maiya Hisau, wielding an automatic rifle, unleashed a barrage at Ryou.
A storm of steel that could tear flesh to shreds merely produced a series of metallic clangs as it struck him.
Clang!
A ricocheting bullet grazed Maiya's cheek.
To avoid being hit, Maiya had no choice but to stop shooting.
But in a desperate attempt to buy Kiritsugu more time, Maiya put down her gun and, without hesitation, drew a military knife from her leg and charged at Ryou.
You really can't afford to anger a mistress in love.
Ryou sent her flying into a nearby room with a single kick.
At that moment, a knife came flying toward him, and a hand grenade rolled across the floor.
Faced with these two persistent foes, he couldn't help but feel a bit of annoyance.
He casually slapped the knife away.
The shrill whistling sound echoed down the castle corridor.
The knife flew back at ten times the speed at which it had come.
Kiritsugu's eyes widened in shock as he instinctively muttered under his breath:
"Time Alter—Triple Accel!"
At three times his normal speed, he barely dodged the blow aimed at his heart, but his left arm was torn apart by the knife.
At that moment, a muffled explosion rang out—the sound of the grenade detonating, though it was far weaker than expected.
Ryou had simply stepped on the grenade as it rolled across the floor.
The ground shook slightly as the grenade exploded, and the polished marble shattered like glass.
Yet Ryou, who had been in direct contact with the explosion, was completely unharmed.
Even Kiritsugu, who had a heart of steel, couldn't help but twitch an eyebrow.
How could they possibly deal with an enemy like this?
In the next moment, Ryou lightly tapped his foot and appeared right in front of Kiritsugu, his fingers forming a blade as he struck like lightning.
Blood splattered.