"As expected."
Lucien looked at the light screen hovering before him. No message appeared—nothing about killing Gilgamesh or Heracles. Even though Gilgamesh was the antagonist of Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, there was still no Dice roll reward.
Unless the original Gilgamesh was the one that needed to be killed.
Lucien closed the screen and took a slow drag from his cigar.
Now only Shirou Emiya, Rin, and Nameless remained… and also—
Lucien glanced aside at Artoria. She was already dressed, standing quietly at his side, staring at him with a gaze that did not waver.
Illya remained off to the side—nothing more than a vessel.
A vessel completely under Lucien's control.
"Let's go. Only the last Master and Servant pair remains."
A black thorn curled around Illya's waist, lifting her from the ground as Lucien rose into the sky.
Artoria followed silently, her expression unreadable.
The entire flight was quiet. No one spoke.
Before long, Lucien hovered above the Tohsaka residence. Waiting below—just as if they had anticipated his arrival—stood Shirou Emiya, Rin, and Nameless.
"Saber… I'm taking you back."
Shirou's eyes burned with determination as he looked up at Artoria descending from the sky. Kanshou and Bakuya materialized in his hands as he shifted into a combat stance.
Nameless stood beside him, brows deeply furrowed, silent and tense.
Rin kept her head lowered, bloody fissures crawling across her neck and legs, her body trembling ever since Lucien appeared.
The black thorn around Illya snapped through the air, lunging toward Nameless with a tearing whistle.
Kanshou and Bakuya solidified in Nameless's hands the moment he tried to block. But just as he moved—
His body froze.
Rin's head lifted, and her right hand stretched forward—the Command Spell on the back of her hand glowing violently.
"Rin…"
Nameless's heart dropped. The thorn pierced through his chest, but he stared only at her.
Shirou froze, stunned.
"I can't control myself…"
Rin's amethyst eyes shimmered with pain. Her body no longer obeyed her. Everything happening felt like she was merely watching from far away.
"Puff… puff…"
Seven black thorns extended from Lucien's lower back, piercing Nameless one after another, draining his life force rapidly.
"It's you!"
Shirou charged toward Lucien, desperate to stop him.
But someone stepped between them.
"Saber…"
Facing Artoria blocking his way, Shirou's expression twisted.
Artoria lowered her gaze and forced him back with a single powerful strike.
Behind them, Nameless collapsed to his knees, supporting himself weakly on trembling hands, his life slipping away.
He could no longer endure.
"Damn it—Trace On!"
Shirou roared, his Reality Marble erupting outward—Unlimited Blade Works.
A red desert filled with countless swords spread beneath them. Gigantic gears spun endlessly in the sky.
Swords launched toward Lucien and the black thorns in a relentless barrage.
But the Hardened thorns sparked only faintly under the impact.
Every blade aimed at Lucien was deflected by Artoria.
"Bang!"
Nameless's body burst into light, dissipating.
As he vanished, Illya shuddered violently beside Lucien, her small frame lifting weightlessly into the air as she drifted upward.
Six Servants had already died. And with Sasaki Kojiro having vanished after Medea's demise, that made seven.
The Holy Grail had almost gathered enough energy.
A power capable of shaking the world.
Shirou's Reality Marble shattered instantly.
"Puff…"
Several crystal thorns speared into Shirou's body in rapid succession.
He was hoisted into the air, life being drained from him.
"Shirou!"
Rin's eyes widened with panic. She could only watch helplessly as Shirou writhed under the pain.
She couldn't control her own limbs—how could she possibly save him?
Artoria stepped forward, tightening her grip on her Holy Sword, ready to move.
But Lucien's cold gaze shifted toward her, and a Command Spell vanished from the back of his hand, forcing her to the ground.
A crystal thorn tore deeper into Shirou's chest. The wound began regenerating slowly.
Lucien was searching for the scabbard—Avalon.
The scabbard of the Sword of Promised Victory.
Avalon granted complete immunity, miraculous regeneration, freedom from aging, and served as a mobile fortress. When deployed fully, it transported the bearer into the Land of Fairies, shielding them from all physical and multiversal interference. It was a Noble Phantasm surpassing the Five True Magics.
A single blow from its full manifestation could nullify the Conqueror King's Ionioi Hetairoi or Gilgamesh's Ea.
Artoria was incomplete without it. Only by uniting the Sword and its scabbard could she become her true self—the King of Knights.
"How could it not be here?"
Lucien's expression darkened.
The scabbard wasn't inside Shirou.
Either it hadn't materialized… or it had already merged completely with him.
But that made no sense. Kiritsugu had used Avalon to summon Artoria in the Fourth Holy Grail War, then embedded it in Shirou to save his life afterward. This was why Shirou could later summon her.
"Artoria. You should be able to sense it."
Lucien looked at her.
Artoria didn't answer. Her lips pressed tightly together, eyes pleading silently.
Then a golden light shimmered above Shirou's head.
Avalon revealed itself.
But before Lucien could react, it dissolved into particles of light and vanished.
Lucien's gaze chilled. He stepped toward Artoria, anger simmering beneath his calm exterior.
Artoria did not retreat. She met his stare with unwavering resolve.
Lucien understood her message clearly.
She would never give him the scabbard.
Not even if it cost her life.
"Puff…"
A tremor spread through Artoria's body. Her eyes widened, filled with pain and tears as she looked down at the hand that pierced through her chest.
Lucien bit into her pale neck as her life flowed into him. Artoria's soft groan escaped her lips, her head tilting back as golden hair billowed around her.
And then—
Artoria vanished.
Lucien's expression did not shift. His heart remained unmoved.
Avalon had slipped through his fingers.
Only anger remained.
Shirou's drained corpse collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
All seven Servants had fallen.
The sky brightened unnaturally as everything stabilized. Illya's form twisted, transforming into a golden Grail hovering above her. A black vortex opened above it—the path to the Root.
Black mud spilled endlessly from the opening, funneling into the Grail.
The corruption dated back to the Third Holy Grail War.
It had absorbed the defeated Servant—Angra Mainyu—during that war.
And now the taint had fully awakened.
____
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