[Noble Phantasm: Dragon King's Stone Sword · Incarnation of Thundercloud]
[NP Rank: A+]
[NP Type: Anti-Army]
[This weapon originates from a distant universe, a manifestation of the power once held by Platon-Sanx, the ancient Dragon King who ruled the Borderlands in primordial times. Although only a fragment of its true might, when facing dragon-blooded descendants without eternal life, it exerts the full pressure of the Dragon King.]
[When unleashed, the user temporarily transforms into a red thundercloud, and upon closing the distance with the enemy, strikes with a lightning-wreathed blade that pierces the opponent, dealing massive bonus damage to dragon-type enemies.]
[This anti-dragon effect stacks with the user's own inherent bonuses.]
Soaring into the sky, she became one with the clouds.
Having lost her physical form, Guinevere gained temporary flight, swiftly approaching the rapidly advancing Albion. Within the dark storm clouds, ancient crimson dragon lightning crackled with intensity.
Despite both combatants battling mid-air, they had, as if by instinct, chosen primitive close-quarters combat.
Guinevere wasn't particularly fast, but with Albion's approach reaching multiple times the speed of sound, their combined speed was inconceivable—far beyond what the human eye could track. Even without blinking and with full concentration, humans simply could not perceive that moment of collision.
Whoever struck first in that lightning-fast instant—with claw or blade—would determine the outcome of the clash.
Perhaps as a certain popular novel once said: "In the world of dragons, the wars between kings are fought in blood."
And when it came to seizing the moment, Guinevere never failed.
As the air screamed in protest at being torn asunder,
A meteor crashed straight into the thundercloud, and a heartbeat before the two figures collided, Guinevere reemerged from the cloud and thrust her Dragon King's Stone Sword directly through Albion's body.
Even though Albion's armor had immense defense—comparable to an A++ Endurance servant, capable of withstanding frontal attacks from the Sword of Promised Victory—against a weapon with both dragon-specific and universal anti-entity bonuses, an eightfold multiplier, it was still too fragile.
Armor capable of tunneling through the earth's crust was like sand before the Dragon King's blade. Guinevere's entire body smashed through, piercing Albion's core completely.
That should have ended the battle—or so Guinevere thought.
After all, the destruction of the spirit core is akin to obliterating both brain and heart in a human. Any existence would cease functioning.
But this assumption was his fatal mistake.
Driven by a singular obsession, Albion's vitality surpassed even Guinevere's expectations.
Though she possessed no "revival" skill, the sheer force of a girl's determination to accomplish her goal drove Albion to move once more.
Scarlet mana suddenly burst from her body, tearing into Guinevere with violent force. Her claws raked across him, shattering his form. Then, Albion turned with startling speed and charged again before Guinevere could reactivate the Dragon King's Sword. The force of the impact knocked the spear from his hand.
"Warning, warning.
Irreversible damage sustained.
Attempting repairs—failure.
Spirit Core confirmed destroyed.
Self-destruct in five minutes and twenty seconds.
Retreat plan—abandoned.
Override initiated: full assault.
Executing base code: eliminate target.
Target—locked.
Final target confirmation—"
With her system failing, the machine body of Albion reached its conclusion:
No retreat. Advance.
The Dragon Furnace pushed to its limits, burning every last drop of mana as fuel. She charged toward Guinevere at full speed.
And as Albion truly collided with Guinevere, trying to rip him apart with her claws,
She looked him in the eyes for the first time—up close—and sensed the sudden, altered magic flow within him, ever since he merged with Yser.
"Target... target..."
Her vision blurred.
An empty heart throbbed in pain.
Despite having lost all rationality and memory, her core components shattered in exchange for total release of power,
What stood now was no longer the most beautiful dragon-fairy of Britain,
But simply the terminal device of Britain's end, the discarded flesh of a dead dragon.
And yet—why did he feel so familiar?
...Familiar?
Familiar? Familiar? Familiar?
Word meaning—unable to comprehend.
But—
"Override: deny base code.
Request: cease attack.
Reason: unknown.
Cease attack.
Target... target / that man... re-searching..."
Though all related memories had been lost, the pain in her heart drove her to search—search and remember.
She had to recall who he was—
"Retrieving—"
But before the dragon could remember her human emotions, her human sorrow and joy, and her reason for fighting—
A second spear pierced her body.
It was a war lance marred by seared fingerprints. Mad yellow flames danced upon it, instantly engulfing Albion's form. The world-corrupting madness flame melted her armor, and the spear drove straight into her core.
"It's over."
So murmuring, Guinevere twisted the spear and shouted:
"O Lance of Dragons! Pierce mine enemy!"
As he roared, crimson lightning exploded from the spear, surging through every part of Albion's body, obliterating the last traces of life.
\[Noble Phantasm: Vick's War Lance]
\[NP Rank: A]
\[NP Type: Anti-Personnel]
\[This weapon, from a distant universe, once belonged to a certain knight. It contains two contrasting powers—one, a madness-inducing flame that corrupts the world; the other, the crimson thunder of ancient dragons. When activated, the user can choose to release one of the two.]
\["Scorched-Fingered Vick" was a founding member of the first Round Table, the closest to becoming Elden King among all the knights, hailed as the "Quasi-King." But for unknown reasons, he once delved into the depths of the royal city and was consumed by the Madness Flame.]
\[Before that, he was known as the "Dragon Lance," the favorite knight of Lancel-Sanx. The crimson lightning on his spear was proof of this.]
\[—"This world is incredibly cruel, but I still love you."]
\[—"If the price of becoming king is to sacrifice you, then I'd rather give up the crown."]
Ah… ahhh—
The dragon's fading vision lingered on the knight holding the lance. In that final moment, the disabled dragon finally remembered the spear—and its wielder.
"Yser... Yser..."
No mistake. It could only be him.
Though his face had changed, and his aura was different,
That way of holding the spear, that familiar lance, and the expression of sorrowful resolve as he struck down his enemy—all matched her memories perfectly.
—Identical.
And so, with that as a trigger, her memories came flooding back, all beginning with him.
Because the very first memory she had was of him pulling her from the filthy mire.
She even remembered how excitedly he turned to his companion:
"Ash, look! What a beautiful, radiant fairy!"
Her fondness for crimson dragon lightning came from that moment—
Because she had once seen him wield it, blazing a trail for others with unmatched brilliance.
That strength, that radiance, had always lit up her world.
Why hadn't she recognized him sooner?
Ahhh...
As her lifeless body fell, Melusine, having reclaimed herself, was filled with endless regret.
How cruel her actions had been...
Now, with all her might, she tried to move her lifeless form just a little.
She likely wouldn't survive until hitting the ground, but before disappearing, she wanted answers.
She hoped all her efforts were for nothing. She hoped her struggles meant nothing to him.
She hoped she'd been nothing but a foolish clown to him.
She wanted to see his eyes again—those eyes she hadn't seen even in dreams.
But fate was unkind.
As she finally turned and saw Guinevere on the other side, she was devastated to see the light had already left him.
His power to revive came from his obsession to defeat the threat to his beloved. Now, receiving the system confirmation: \[Calamity of Flame, Albion—Defeated], that obsession vanished.
And so did he—closing his eyes in peace, never to awaken again.
Seeing his peaceful final expression, Melusine fell into utter despair.
All she had done had ultimately fulfilled her goal...
Even though she no longer wished to.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
And so, with endless regret, the dragon fairy took her last breath.
...........................
\[After defeating "Calamity of Flame: Albion," you closed your eyes in satisfaction and ended your life.]
\[Simulation complete.]
So satisfying!
Guinevere clenched his fist in excitement, but quickly remembered that Artoria and the others were nearby, keeping night watch. He quickly calmed himself to avoid being discovered.
Finally, he'd defeated that damn Fairy Knight Lancelot!
Damn it, this simulation had been pure torture thanks to that lunatic. He started with the best buffs imaginable, and still got hunted like prey the whole time. Most of the game, he was just running for his life!
Despite perfect play and careful maneuvering, she still stole his kill during the final boss.
Unbelievable—just because he beat her once, she decided to go full grudge mode and hunt him the whole match. No farming, no quests, just blood feud.
Whatever. He had zombie bros. He was freaking Caine. Time to feed her a zombie beatdown.
He even found Shadow Yser in zombie mode and fused, hitting max-level form. When the final battle came, he had all the gear and buffs. Graduation build unlocked!
Sure, he misjudged Albion's HP at the end and got wrecked—but it was fine.
He'd had Grim cast Farewell Blessing beforehand—there was a safety net. Too bad Albion didn't last long enough to trigger it.
Pity his remaining simulation time was too short to return to Edinburgh and finish off Woodworth.
Oh well. He had no regrets ending the run.
He wondered how Artoria and the others were doing. Could they hold off the coalition of Windfang, Earthfang, and Stonefang tribes?
Guinevere pondered...
\[However, though you have perished, your teammates from this simulation are still active. Would you like to watch their post-epilogue scenes?]