As the car sped at high velocity—
BOOM!!
Suddenly, a figure dropped onto the road, smashing into the ground with a heavy tremor!
"!!"
Mordred quickly jerked the steering wheel, sending the vehicle drifting past the figure ahead. The car flipped once in midair before landing safely back on the ground and skidding to a halt.
Clang!
She kicked the car door clean off and stepped out.
"This damn thing was a rental!!"
Kairi Sisigou's expression twisted as though he had swallowed something foul. Just his luck—exactly what he feared had happened. He should've hired another driver after all!
"So noisy~! Broken is broken… who's to blame if this piece of junk's too fragile?"
Mordred scratched her head unconcernedly.
"You're not the one paying for it! A vehicle tough enough for you would have to be a tank! Damn… my wound hurts again."
Still shouting, Kairi clutched his injured arm and climbed out, ignoring the nearly wrecked car. First, they needed to see who this crash victim was.
"Ugh… pain, pain, pain…! Huh? You're… Red Faction's Saber?"
Astolfo, sprawled in the pit, groaned and rubbed his back. When he looked up and saw Mordred, surprise crossed his face. He had just been fighting against the Red Assassin's Aerial Garden of Vanity, only to be outmaneuvered and shot down! Any normal person would've been smashed to paste, but as a Servant he had survived—though his back was killing him. And to make matters worse, he had fallen right in front of these two… what rotten luck!
"Yo~! You're a Black Servant… uh, right?"
Mordred crouched to examine the long-haired boy in women's garb—sling dress, stockings, and all—then turned toward Kairi.
"Mm… from the roster, this one should be Rider."
Kairi recalled aloud.
"Oh? Doesn't look that tough."
Mordred straightened, unimpressed by the Rider now kneeling on the ground like a duck.
"Don't underestimate him. We're still in the middle of a battlefield."
Kairi sighed.
"Tch… of course I know that!"
Mordred snapped back, then turned her eyes to the seemingly frail Astolfo before them.
"And as for you—what now? If you surrender, I'll make your death quick. You won't even feel pain."
Red mana surged across her body, forming red-and-white heavy armor. She raised her greatsword, aiming it at Rider.
This was humiliating.
Astolfo thought so bitterly.
"No way… I'm still a Servant! If you want a fight, come on! I'm ready!!"
Clutching his aching back, he forced himself upright and drew his lance, lowering his stance for battle.
"Oh? You're sure?"
"Yeah! Don't look down on me—I can fight you too!"
One minute later—
Thud!
"Ughhh!!"
With a single swift strike, Mordred had flung Astolfo flying. He crashed back to the ground, his head spinning with birds circling in his vision. The bold words from earlier felt like a joke now.
"Ha… pathetic! Only lasted a few exchanges, weakling! Go die!"
Mordred raised her sword, ready to decapitate him—when—
"Urraghhh!!"
"!"
A sudden roar made her halt, leaping back instantly!
BOOM!
The ground where she had stood exploded into a crater. From the dust, a figure slowly emerged.
"Hah? And I thought it'd be someone else… turns out it's just that madwoman."
Seeing Frankenstein, Mordred pulled a face that screamed, are you kidding me?, her disdain obvious.
"Ahhh!!"
Provoked by the insult, Frankenstein bellowed furiously and charged forward, swinging her hammer!
"Heh… come on then, madwoman!"
Mordred raised her greatsword, meeting her head-on.
Clash! ×N
Sword and hammer collided again and again, each strike unleashing violent shockwaves that tore up dust and stone. Red and pale-green lights tangled ceaselessly.
Kairi, taking cover behind the car, carefully observed the clash between the two.
There was no denying it—Saber's overall combat power far outclassed most other classes. Rider was no match, and even against Berserker, Mordred held the advantage. By now, she was pressing Frankenstein back.
The Berserker had grown more frenzied and lost all sense of reason, leaving countless openings in her attacks. Seeing this, Kairi knew they had already won. No need to waste a Command Spell here—he would save those for when they faced Black Saber, that troublesome woman.
Clang!
Mordred deflected Frankenstein's hammer with force, channeling mana into her greatsword. A blast of light fired from the blade!
BOOM! BOOM!
"Urraghhh!!"
The explosion engulfed Berserker. Her body trembled violently, heat rising from burns across her frame. Her once pristine dress was in tatters. One wrist had been severed, exposing wires and mechanical bones beneath her skin. Her hammer lay far away on the ground.
Mordred approached the writhing figure.
"Tch… still struggling, huh?"
Her eyes fell on the exposed wires and artificial skeleton.
"So, a homunculus? Just a patchwork doll. Fine… I'll send you off with one strike."
"Stop!!"
A sudden cry from behind made Mordred blink in confusion.
"Hah?"
She turned—and saw a brown-haired youth awkwardly thrusting a sword toward her. Calling it a thrust was generous—it was sluggish, clumsy.
Mordred stepped aside lazily, then kicked him in the stomach.
Thud!
"Urraghhh!!"
The youth—Sieg, the homunculus—coughed violently as he was sent flying and slammed into the ground.
"Sieg?! Why are you here?!"
Rider's expression paled as he recognized him.
Mordred ignored the boy, turning back toward Berserker—only for Sieg, stubborn as a cockroach, to force himself up and lunge again!
Stab!
"...?"
Mordred felt a sting of pain at her side. Glancing down, she saw his sword had pierced through her armor. Blood trickled down.
It was the same spot Berserker had struck earlier—already dented and weakened.
"…"
Her face darkened. Without a word, she gripped the blade with her hand, wrenching it free while dragging Sieg's body closer. She raised her greatsword—
Shlk!!
The steel drove straight through his torso.
Blood sprayed, splattering the ground.
"Sieg!!! Saber, stop!!!"
Rider's horrified scream broke out, tears spilling from his eyes.
"Ghh—ahhh!!"
Shlk!!
Mordred thrust the sword deeper, then ripped it free with force. Blood gushed once more as Sieg's limp body collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
"Fool. Waste of time."
Crash!
She kicked his corpse aside, sending it flying.
"You… you bastard!! I'll never forgive you!!"
Overcome with rage, Rider rose again, clutching his lance. He charged at Mordred recklessly, fury driving his every step.
Their weapons clashed violently once more. But as the fight dragged on, Rider's strength waned. He was losing ground.
Shlk!
Her blade slashed across his waist!
"Urraghhh!!"
Thud!
Mordred slammed him down and strode forward, raising her sword to finish him.
"Last time, that madwoman saved you… but this time—!"
"Wait!"
Kairi's voice cut in sharply.
"What now?!"
Mordred glared back at him, irritation clear.
"Are you sure Berserker's dead?"
"Uh…"
She froze, then turned toward where Frankenstein had fallen. But the spot was empty. She had not disappeared from the battlefield—her hammer was still embedded in the ground.
"What the…?"
Mordred muttered in surprise.
The very next instant—Berserker seized the opportunity, leaping down from above and clinging onto Mordred's head like a monkey!
"Wha—?!"
"Urraghhhhh!!!"
With her furious roar, torrents of mana surged forth, converging around them. A storm of pale-green lightning swirled violently, centered upon the two! Beside them, her massive hammer—Bridal Chest—shifted and transformed into some mechanical device, spinning rapidly.
Seeing this, Rider rushed forward, shielding Sieg with his cloak to block the storm.
[Berserker, is this your wish? Hah… I understand now! I will support you with a Command Spell!]
Within his chamber in the fortress, Caules grasped his Servant's will—her resolve to perish together with her foe. As her Master, he too understood the gravity of this moment. Gritting his teeth, he invoked a Command Spell!
[By the Command Spell of the Black Faction—Berserker! Remove all restraints, unleash your Noble Phantasm, and destroy the Red Saber!]
Agonizing pain lanced across Caules' arm and through his entire body as the Command Spell took effect!
On the battlefield, Berserker's whole body trembled with fervor as her Master's words reached her.
"You bitch! Let go of me!!"
Mordred panicked, struggling with all her might to shake the opponent off. But Frankenstein clung tightly, with no intention of releasing her.
"Together… we… depart! Noble Phantasm—Blasted Tree!!"
Her words rang clearer than ever before. In that moment, a violent radiance engulfed them both—Mordred and the Berserker—as well as the vast plain and skies around them!
Lightning cascaded down, enveloping the land in destruction. Hundreds of meters of terrain were obliterated in the storm!
A colossal explosion followed, fire pillars erupting skyward, illuminating both the sky and the bleak plain.
—
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