"You underestimate me!"
A savage roar tore from Mordred's throat.
BZZZT!
A violent surge of crimson lightning, Mana Burst, erupted from her body. The sheer heat and explosive force instantly vaporized the giant earthen hand gripping her leg and reduced the deadly spikes below to scorched gravel.
Freed from the trap, Mordred used the momentum of her fall to hit the ground rolling. She skidded backward, digging her boots into the dirt to create distance between herself and the strange, violet-haired girl.
Her green eyes narrowed. This mage is dangerous, she realized. She had rushed in expecting a squishy caster, but this opponent was tough, heavily shielded, and perfectly countered her attacks with split-second timing.
Stell stood casually amidst the ruined graves, her posture completely relaxed, offering no openings.
"Hiding in a turtle shell!" Mordred taunted, pointing the tip of her broadsword at Stell. "If you have any pride, drop the shield and fight me head-on!"
Stell did not respond.
To her, taunts were merely a standard combat tactic designed to inflict emotional distress and provoke irrational behavior. Since she possessed no human ego to bruise, the tactic was entirely ineffective.
Mordred clicked her tongue. She didn't expect the provocation to work, but the absolute silence was infuriating. She tightened her grip on her sword, preparing to charge again, when her Instinct skill flared.
Danger. From behind.
"Hah!"
Without looking, Mordred spun around, swinging her greatsword in a wide, crimson arc.
The blade sheared through solid stone, accompanied by the deafening sound of a massive structure crumbling.
"What the hell is this? A golem?"
Mordred smirked beneath her helmet. Standing before her were the bisected remains of a ten-meter-tall giant made of earth and tombstone fragments.
But it wasn't alone.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The ground shook as a dozen more massive stone golems pulled themselves from the earth, surrounding the Knight of Treachery.
"Are you mocking me?" Mordred laughed, a dark, bloodthirsty sound. "You think these mud toys can stop me?!"
Her aura flared. The crimson lightning wrapped around her armor and her blade.
BOOM!
She kicked off the ground with enough force to shatter the bedrock. She became a red comet, plunging directly into the swarm of towering golems. In a matter of seconds, half of the giants were reduced to piles of rubble by her devastating, explosive strikes.
...
Stell watched the destruction quietly.
While the golems kept the Servant occupied, her internal processors were working at maximum capacity.
[Target locked. Spirit Origin scan complete.]
[Accessing Akashic Records via Pseudo-Rasiel... Matching parameters...]
A stream of data projected onto Stell's optical interface.
[True Name: Mordred]
[Class: Saber]
[Parameters:]
Strength: B+ | Endurance: A
Agility: B | Mana: B
Luck: D | Noble Phantasm: A
[Personal Skills:]
Instinct: B
Mana Burst: A
Battle Continuation: B
[Noble Phantasms identified: 2/3]
1. Secret of Pedigree (Helm of Hidden Infidelity)
2. Clarent (Radiant and Brilliant Royal Sword)
Stell analyzed the readout. She had successfully recorded the data for the Servant's basic parameters, her concealment helmet, and her standard broadsword. However, the most crucial data point remained locked.
The third Noble Phantasm. The Anti-Army ultimate attack. Clarent Blood Arthur.
Analysis: A Heroic Spirit will generally reserve their ultimate attack for a decisive moment or a worthy opponent, Stell reasoned. To force its activation, I must apply overwhelming psychological and physical pressure.
[Replication complete. Commencing construct protocol.]
It was time to conduct an experiment.
Seeing that the golems were nearly destroyed, Stell raised her right arm, aiming it calmly at the rampaging knight.
...
Having pulverized the last of the stone giants, Mordred immediately locked her sights back onto Stell.
Seeing the violet-haired girl simply raise an arm, Mordred's lip curled in disgust. Another spell?
Her Instinct told her that the gesture wasn't inherently lethal. Therefore, Mordred naturally assumed the coward was preparing to deploy that impenetrable golden shield again.
I don't care how tough your shield is! I'll smash it to pieces!
Fueled by annoyance, Mordred accelerated, her charge even faster than before.
But as she closed the distance, a blinding golden light began to gather in Stell's outstretched hand. The light quickly solidified, taking the shape of a weapon.
Even through the glare, the silhouette of the forming weapon struck a deep, jarring chord in Mordred's mind. It looked incredibly familiar.
In a fraction of a second, Mordred was in striking range. She brought her red-and-silver greatsword crashing down.
But this time, the golden shield did not appear.
Instead, Stell moved. With an eerie, unnatural fluidity that defied human biomechanics, she twisted her body, slipping just past the descending blade.
At that exact moment, the light in Stell's hand faded, revealing the fully formed weapon.
Mordred's pupils contracted to pinpricks. Her heart seized.
Stell was holding a sword. A silver broadsword with a distinct, ornate hilt and a wide blade.
It was Clarent.
To see her own weapon, the symbol of her royal lineage and her ultimate pride, held in the hands of a stranger induced a momentary shock so profound that Mordred's brain simply stopped processing.
For a seasoned warrior, a moment of hesitation is a fatal error.
Stell did not miss the opening. She swung the replica sword directly at Mordred's chest.
[Endo Armament: Activate.]
[Endo Armament: Activate.]
[Endo Armament: Activate.]
In the span of a microsecond, Stell applied multiple layers of reinforcement, acceleration, and density-altering magic to her blade and her chassis. The power of the strike spiked exponentially.
By the time Mordred's combat instincts screamed at her to move, it was too late. The blade was already upon her.
Her heavy armor, designed to withstand the blows of mythical beasts, would not save her from this. She had no room to dodge.
In a desperate bid for survival, Mordred threw her right arm across her chest, sacrificing a limb to protect her Spirit Core.
CRUNCH!
A shockwave of displaced air flattened the surrounding gravestones. Mordred was launched backward like a cannonball, tearing through the forest canopy and smashing a trench through the earth.
…
The copied blade had sheared through Mordred's thick armor as if it were warm butter.
If she hadn't sacrificed her arm to parry the strike at the very last millisecond, the blade would have carved straight through her chest, destroying her spiritual core and ending her participation in the Holy Grail War immediately.
"Cough... cough..."
….
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