Defeat.
This was a feeling Scáthach had never experienced. Though she thirsted for death, she remained a warrior. She wanted to conquer traps that could kill her, and when facing an opponent strong enough, she couldn't resist the urge to defeat them.
Her drive to challenge the strong made her grow stronger without realizing it.
Thus, Scáthach had never died. She had come close to death many times but always failed to fully surrender to it.
This time, however, she felt it.
Her magical spear, guaranteed to hit and kill, her proud Noble Phantasm—Gáe Bolg Alternative—couldn't even pin Artoria in space. Before it could touch her, it was blocked mid-strike.
Light radiated from Artoria's chest, breaking into thousands of fragments, forming a Bounded Field of light that enveloped her. Outside this field, the tip of the magical spear scraped fiercely against it, desperately trying to penetrate.
But that was impossible.
"Absolute defense in the truest sense, a Bounded Field that even Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon couldn't pierce… This is truly the first time I've seen it in person."
Avalon had been in Naoki's possession for nearly five years, but remarkably, he had never unleashed it. He essentially used it as a mobile mana spring.
Normally, he didn't need to release its True Name, and in situations where it was needed, he likely lent it to others.
Like Gray or Aoko.
Thus, this was truly the first time Naoki witnessed Avalon's release.
Morgan, standing beside him, also showed a hint of nostalgia in her eyes. Artoria, wielding both Avalon and the Holy Sword, was the strongest form of King Arthur. How many years had it been since this invincible Artoria was last seen?
(Absolute protection… this is your trump card, Saber.)
As long as Avalon was present, Artoria was an unbeatable existence. Even against the King of Magecraft or the King of Heroes, they could only sigh and concede before this Bounded Field.
Scáthach couldn't penetrate it. Her only chance of victory was to defeat Artoria before she activated the Bounded Field. But that opportunity was gone.
Realizing this, Scáthach sighed in resignation, halting her thrust. At that moment—
*CHIIIRRR!*
The Holy Sword's light flashed, blood sprayed from Scáthach's shoulder, and a horrific gash appeared on her body.
The wound's depth undoubtedly reached her heart—or for a Servant, the Spirit Core, the essence forming their body. Artoria's sword had perfectly shattered it.
Once the Spirit Core was destroyed, a Servant's retreat was only a matter of time.
The unprecedented pain made Scáthach laugh uncontrollably. This was the first time she felt such intense pain. Her strength continuously drained from her body along with the blood, her legs weakened to the point of barely standing, and her consciousness faded bit by bit.
"Is this what death feels like?"
"Perhaps it's also the feeling of Defeat." Naoki said, approaching Scáthach.
"Are you satisfied with the fight, Queen Scáthach?"
"Satisfied… Yes, you could say that. Though I couldn't fight you even once, battling the King of Knights in her prime is a result I can accept. Most importantly, I finally experienced death."
"Though it's only this replica body, this Servant body, that dies, my true self still lives in this world. But this memory of death, this sensation of death, my real self will surely feel it."
Fighting someone who could kill her and being killed—this was why Scáthach answered the Holy Grail's call and Aozaki Aoko's summons. She, who didn't need the Grail, had now fulfilled her wish.
Her ruby-red eyes fixed on Naoki, Scáthach laughed. "Our fight will have to wait for another time. Remember this well, young man named Natsukawa Naoki—we still have an unfulfilled promise. One way or another, I'll make you keep it."
As her words ended, Scáthach's body slowly dissolved into countless specks of light, swiftly vanishing from the scene.
Lancer Scáthach, eliminated from the battlefield.
"So, that's three down. Four Servants remain."
Artoria, Solomon, Okita Souji, and Odysseus.
To grant a wish with the Holy Grail, the Mana from three Servants was actually enough, as neither Solomon's nor Marisbury's wishes would consume too much Mana.
However—
"It seems we arrived just as the previous actor exited. A seamless transition."
As if descending from the sky, a voice amplified by a speaker made the three present look up. Then, as if a curtain was lifted, a massive object slowly appeared in the empty Fuyuki River.
It was a horse.
A pure white stallion, but not a real one. It wasn't a living creature but a mecha that should only exist in sci-fi films, brimming with high-tech aesthetics, shaped like a stallion.
"This is…"
Artoria and Morgan widened their eyes, unable to believe the colossal entity before them. They weren't strangers to giant beings—Artoria had even faced the white dragon Vortigern directly.
But in terms of size, this mecha surpassed Vortigern!
"The Trojan Horse—this is Rider Odysseus's Noble Phantasm… Seeing it in person is far more spectacular and grand than I imagined!"
Unlike their shock, Naoki looked thrilled.
What man doesn't dream of piloting a Gundam? Naoki had even once discussed with Odysseus about letting him ride it!
But…
"Showing up at a time like this—don't tell me you plan to finish us off while we're weakened from the big fight, Touko-sensei."
[You think so?]
Aozaki Touko's voice came from within the Trojan Horse.
[If that's the case, what will you do?]