"So this is the Holy Grail… This isn't just powerful, it's a super-class magical core. Why is something like this even in a small island country…?" Romani muses over the radio, his voice thick with awe.
"According to the records, it seems to be the Greater Grail created by the Einzbern family about four hundred years ago," Olga Marie explains, staring up at the pulsating light.
"Wow… that's amazing," Rikka whispers.
"So this is the Holy Grail…" Mash echoes.
As everyone shared their thoughts about the place, my attention—no, the attention of the vessel called Gilgamesh—was fixed on one point.
"That's enough talking. It's here. That thing is the last guard protecting the cause."
—
Pale skin like a corpse. Heavy jet-black armor. Shining blond hair.
And dull yellow eyes. A sword filled with darkness.
…
Just looking at the knight ahead makes a deep irritation rise from within me. Like bile in the back of my throat.
What is this feeling?
Before I can even think about it, the vessel speaks on its own.
"…What is that form? I look away for a moment and you fall into such base thoughts again."
"I'm surprised to see you here, King of Heroes." The knight's voice is cold, void of emotion.
I pause. Does the black swordsman know Gilgamesh? Then again, any hero would know the King of Heroes.
"Huh!? You can talk!? You stayed silent this whole time!?" Rikka gasps, pointing a finger.
"I was being watched no matter what I did, so I played the scarecrow. But—"
The knight's dull gaze shifts to Mash.
"!" Mash stiffens.
"You possess an interesting Noble Phantasm, girl."
"E-eh? Me?"
"Careful, kid. Don't let your guard down," Cú Chulainn warns, gripping his staff. "That's the famed Knight King, Arthur Pendragon. The one holding the second Sword of Selection. One of the most famous swords in the world—"
"Excalibur! The ultimate holy sword forged by the inner sea of the planet!" Romani shouts, unable to hide his excitement.
Arthur Pendragon… The name doesn't feel familiar. Arthur should be a king—male, at least historically.
And yet, unless my eyes are failing me, he—no, she—
"She's… a woman?" I mutter.
"A cross-dressing girl? Britain was really ahead of its time," Rikka notes, tilting her head.
That's it. I've never heard of any theory where Arthur Pendragon was a woman.
"If she were female, she probably couldn't become king. Maybe her family forced her to live as a man," Olga Marie theorizes, her brow furrowed.
"Stop chatting so casually! The Knight King is targeting Mash!" Romani yells.
"I see… how interesting. Very interesting indeed," the Black King says, ignoring the chatter. "King of Heroes, I'll deal with your unpleasant presence later."
He—she—spits the words out and faces Mash, lowering her black sword.
"Take your stance, girl. I will test whether that protection of yours is real—with my blade!"
—
The discomfort grows stronger. What is this anger?
It feels like something precious I once admired has been smeared with filth. A feeling close to killing intent.
"So you dare say I come later. How bold—Mash!" I bark the command.
"Y-yes!"
"That one desires you. Put strength into your core. Though stained, that is still the light of the stars."
"If you let go of that shield even for a moment, you and the Master behind you will vanish."
"—!"
With the vessel unstable, the only choice is to entrust the Master's safety to Mash.
In our short time together, I've learned how to push Mash to draw out her true strength.
She doesn't fear her own death.
She fears her precious people getting hurt—and that fear makes her rise.
Mash is kind. Just an ordinary girl.
And yet, compared to me—who was given the absurd privilege of being the King of Heroes—she is far stronger, and far more admirable.
—Please, Mash. Don't die.
"I understand! I will protect the Master!" Mash shouts, slamming the base of her shield into the stone floor.
"That's reckless! You don't even know your Noble Phantasm's true name! And your enemy is Excalibur—the strongest holy sword!" Olga Marie screams.
"What are you saying, Director?"
"Huh…?"
The Master, Fujimaru Rikka, smiles brightly.
"My Mash is the strongest shield!"
"You…!"
"Let's do it, Mash! Show them your power!"
"Yes! — The name of my Noble Phantasm, given to me by the Director—!"
—
The Black King raises her sword high.
"Usurper King's Hammer. The polar light reverses—devour the light!"
Magic gathers into the sword, forming a massive mass of darkness that takes the shape of light.
It is a holy sword of a fallen star, a tyrannical force like an evil dragon that swallows and consumes all brilliance.
—
"I am deploying my Noble Phantasm!" Mash cries out.
It is the foundation that watches over human history: an indestructible wall bearing the name of the observatory that observes mankind.
—
"Excalibur Morgan—the Sword of Promised Victory!"
It is unleashed. A wave of despair and destruction far beyond a dragon's breath.
Vast magical power pours out, gathers, and swells, becoming an iron judgment meant to annihilate all enemies.
—
"Pseudo–Noble Phantasm, simulated deployment: Chaldeas, the Foundation of Human Order!"
It is constructed. A fleeting yet eternal fortress, named after the observatory that watches and records human history.
Feelings become strength. Wishes become immovable. A wall of snowflowers rises to protect what is precious behind it.
—
A paradoxical legend is reenacted here. Black violence and white snowflowers shake the space itself, raging as if to tear it apart.
"God—!" Olga Marie clasps her hands together.
"Do not pray to gods, fool," I say quietly beside her.
"!"
"What can those who vanished into nothing do? What you should pray for is the safety of your friends."
That's right. Don't cling to something and close your eyes.
Look properly—at that gentle yet unbreakable resolve.
And at the Round Table that answers it.
—
"Uuugh… aaah—!!" Mash screams, her feet digging furrows into the rock.
"It's okay! I'm here! Everyone is here! Mash, you're not alone!" Rikka shouts, bracing Mash from behind.
"—Disappear!" The Black King commands.
The destructive light grows even stronger, roaring like a dragon about to swallow its prey whole.
"I'm not just someone who's protected! I am—Mash's—!"
Mash suddenly looks at her Master.
"Rikka!!"
"Gil's—Master!!"
The red Command Seal on her right hand shines, and one mark vanishes.
At the same time, power surges through Mash's entire body, and her shield grows even stronger and harder.
"Ooooooooo—!!!!!"
―――――――
――――――――――――
"I didn't hold back even a little. Honestly, what absurd sturdiness," the Black King mutters, lowering her smoking blade.
This time, the shield won.
It stopped all of Excalibur's light, and still Mash and her Master remain alive.
—
"We did it! Mash did it! Fujimaru did it! She stopped the holy sword! Mash really is on par with top-tier Heroic Spirits!" Romani cheers.
"You're praising the wrong thing, fool," I interrupt.
"Huh?"
Yes. That's not what deserves praise.
Heroic status and Noble Phantasms don't matter.
What deserves unreserved praise is their way of being—their hearts.
They are the ones worthy to walk side by side.
"I see. I understand the shield's strength. Next is my turn—King of Heroes."
The yellow eyes turn toward me.
Good. After seeing that much resolve and spirit, I won't stay silent.
—Here, I decide who I am.
"Don't interfere, mutt," I say to the Caster without looking at him.
"Ha. Like hell I would," Cú snorts, stepping back.
—
Judgment falls upon this nameless soul. This is the first true trial of my reborn life.
"I will overlook the insult of treating me as an afterthought, in honor of Mash's efforts," I declare, stepping forward.
Now then—let us begin, King of Heroes who stands against ten thousand.
"This is the opening of my stage!"
The weapon stockpile—is more than sufficient.