"Then, Saber, can that Noble Phantasm kill Caster in one strike?" Lancer asked, gazing into the distance.
"Perhaps, probably..."
Saber answered somewhat incoherently, but then suddenly turned to Lancer and said, "Lancer, that wound was inflicted during our battle. To me, it is proof of our fight and my honor."
Lancer narrowed his eyes, thinking of Caster and the countless children who had died horribly in the forest.
"Saber, I absolutely cannot forgive that Caster!"
Lancer's voice grew deeper and deeper. He was hesitating; he couldn't forgive Caster, but he had once made a promise to his lord.
Suddenly, Lancer froze.
Then, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Haha, I didn't expect Lord Ryougi to have me do this. Meeting you in this world is truly the greatest fortune of my life." Lancer muttered to himself, then suddenly turned to Saber, planted the red spear in his right hand into the ground, and gripped the yellow short spear with both hands.
"Wait, Lancer, you don't need to do this!" Saber exclaimed, reaching out to stop him.
"No need, Saber. Lord Ryougi has already agreed to my method. This is the shared will of my Master and me! Also, Master has already told me that Caster's Master has been slain. As long as Caster is dealt with, then it's over!"
Saber's half-extended hand froze. She said softly, "Is that so..." She lowered her hand, silently agreeing to Lancer's actions.
"Ha!" With a light laugh, he exerted force with both hands, "Now, what seeks victory is not Lancer and Saber, but the chivalry we both uphold, and my lord's great will! Am I wrong, Heroic Spirit Artoria!"
Crack! Accompanied by Lancer's firm words, Gáe Buidhe, the Yellow Rose of Mortality, snapped!
Who could have expected such an outcome? Waver and Irisviel were speechless with shock. They were utterly stunned by Lancer's decisiveness and his Master's resolve.
"Then, our victory rests upon your sword, King of Knights!"
...In the residence Emiya Kiritsugu was searching for, in a dusty storeroom, Ryougi Raku gently placed the item in his hand in a hidden spot, simultaneously employing a small illusion to prevent its discovery.
"Heh, if the inertia of history still exists, then things will develop in the direction I hope…"
"...Are you going to break that spear, Lancer...?" In this storeroom, Ryougi Raku's gaze seemed to pierce through layers of obstruction, seeing the scene by the river.
"It doesn't matter. I've successfully analyzed everything I could from that spear. For me, it no longer holds any meaning. The only way to stop your will would be with a Command Spell, I suppose..." He looked down at the Command Spells on his hand, "...Heh, I don't need to control others with such things..."
"...Lancer, the last thing I can give you is perhaps only a death filled with loyalty..." He muttered a few words, then with a shake of his clothes, Ryougi Raku vanished from the storeroom... A surge of power filled Saber's body, but it was the power brought by the healing of the cursed wound, and the passion and thrill brought by Lancer and his Master's decisive action!
"I promise you and your Master, Lancer, I will bring victory!"
With the most solemn gaze, her holy azure pupils shimmered with unprecedented brilliance. The Invisible Air had been dispelled, and the golden sword appeared to the world with the storm, its light seemingly capable of illuminating the entire world!
"This is King Arthur's..."
Witnessing this highest crystallization of human fantasy, Waver marveled endlessly at this magnificent, artistic sword.
Seeing it was like seeing chivalry, seeing the ideal of a knight!
"We can win!" Irisviel murmured, biting her lip, her head bowed.
Boom— A loud crash echoed. Everyone turned to look. It was the scene of Berserker being blown away by Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon.
Gilgamesh lightly leaped onto the arch of Fuyuki Bridge.
His posture remained unchanged; the fierce battle with Berserker had not brought him any discomposure.
"Haha, Saber!" Gilgamesh sneered, gazing at the Holy Sword in Saber's hand, "Let me witness your glory and radiance as a Heroic Spirit!"
Saber merely glanced at him silently, paying him no mind.
Turning her head, she focused all her spirit, a hundred and twenty thousand percent. This was the will of Lancer and Ryougi Raku, this was their trust in her. She could not make any mistakes!
Suddenly, a flare shot up.
"It's there!!" Waver roared.
The messenger left by Rider next to him faithfully relayed the coordinates to Rider, who was within the barrier.
Then, he vanished, and at the same time, a monstrous creature appeared in the direction indicated by the flare.
Iskandar also appeared on the battlefield, driving his chariot.
"Seriously! What a hassle… Woah woah woah!!"
Rider was about to complain, but the next moment, the all-shining light filled his eyes. He immediately knew this was not good and cried out, moving away.
Saber poured all her power, all her will, into her sword, raising it high. The golden sword's radiance illuminated the heavens and the earth!
Saber in the light—that was King Arthur's true form, that was the noble ideal of a king, that was her perfect path from the deepest depths of her heart!
"Ex (Oath) —
Calibur (Sword of Victory)!!"
Endless light, condensing humanity's ultimate fantasy, roared past, gushing forth!!!
The Dragon Factor trembled, went wild, bringing Saber indescribable power!
How fast is the speed of light? In any case, it wasn't a speed Caster could evade… Caster, at the very center of the sea monster, suddenly lost his madness, merely gazing at the light that was gradually dissolving him… In the distant past, he had also seen it. As a great hero, he had seen that girl, the most radiant girl between heaven and earth.
Even if he eventually betrayed everything, fell into hell, and committed every evil deed, the holy maiden who shone brightly at King Charles's coronation ceremony, her face remained deeply etched in his heart. Whether he became a Heroic Spirit or fell into the deepest pits of hell, his and her glory could never be defiled, never forgotten, never, ever… This was his last thought in this life… The light took Caster, took everything. When the radiance faded, nothing remained… "...How beautiful!" Ryougi Raku sighed, looking at the towering pillar of light in the distance… "But this beauty, in the end, must be appreciated by someone…" Ryougi Raku said with a smile.
---
"Rider, did you see? Saber's radiance! What, still not going to acknowledge her?" Gilgamesh asked with a lewd, malicious grin.
Rider curled his lip, ignoring him, but looking at that light, he was filled with a sense of tragic grandeur.
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(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) ‹ (TL : More Chapters @patreon.com/c/Gooberilla)