The Holy Grail War, in less than a week, had left Fuyuki City completely disfigured. Although only seven people participated, everyone had to admit that it was a true war.
Rin did not return to Ryudoji Temple until dusk, walking up the tall steps before the mountain gate. Jalter, who had been waiting there, immediately appeared beside Rin, looking at her with a hint of reproach and a touch of worry in her tone:
"Why were you gone so long? Did you encounter Gilgamesh?"
Rin faced Jalter with a 'relieved' expression.
"Don't worry, I just made a detour to make some preparations for the final battle."
As she spoke, Rin pulled up the sleeve of her left arm. Her smooth arm, from wrist to shoulder, was covered with winding command spells.
"I made a detour to the Fuyuki Church and got these from the priest. There are a total of 21 command spells. Every three command spells are enough to support me in casting a Parallel Shift once. This way, I feel a bit more at ease."
Watching Rin smile calmly and pull down her sleeve, Jalter couldn't help but frown, feeling that something was amiss.
"Wait, Master, where is Gilgamesh? Did your scheme take him out?"
"I controlled my father's mind and gave Gilgamesh two suicide commands. He should have already withdrawn."
Saying this, Rin walked towards the inner courtyard of Ryudoji Temple. Jalter walked side by side with Rin. The two walked all the way to the lake behind the temple, where the crystal coffin containing Irisviel was quietly floating on the water in the center of the lake.
"Jalter, when the Holy Grail descends, all the worlds evils will come with it. You are the most effective means to deal with it, but you still need to be extremely careful. Given that all the worlds evils has already begun to overflow even before the Holy Grail is full, it seems it's not as simple as I imagined."
"Understood."
Rin looked up at the crescent moon faintly visible in the sky, her eyes narrowing slightly. She waved at the sky, and twelve clusters of magical energy, seven green and four red, flew into the sky just as in the original work/canon. All that was left was to wait for her opponent to arrive.
"Everything will end tonight..."
On the mountain path of Fuyuki City, just as night fell, a silver motorcycle sped past. The roaring engine seemed to echo the rider's mood, propelling her forward with powerful airflow, its speed far exceeding a normal person's understanding of a motorcycle, as she charged towards the front of Ryudoji Temple.
After Saber's injuries had recovered enough for her to move last night, she began searching for Irisviel's whereabouts, wandering aimlessly throughout Fuyuki City, searching every corner of the city, but there was no trace of Irisviel. It wasn't until nightfall that she noticed the signal coming from Ryudoji Temple on the mountain.
Although she didn't understand the meaning of the signal, it was undoubtedly related to the Holy Grail War, and the lesser grail, as the core of the Holy Grail War, was undoubtedly involved. Saber, as if grasping a life-saving straw, immediately drove towards the mountain.
Saber sped on her motorcycle through the silent night, not even looking at the steps in front of the mountain gate as she drove straight up, only stopping her advance at the main gate of the temple.
The Berserker, dark as a shadow and wreathed in magical mist, stood like a statue cast from black iron on the steps of the main hall of Ryudoji Temple, clearly waiting for someone. After Saber's arrival, the hideous black armor, like a demon from hell, began to react.
The heavy metal armor clanged like a blacksmith's hammer in the quiet darkness of the night. An invisible wind swirled around Saber, and her shining pure silver armor appeared. She raised the holy sword in her hand and pointed it at Lancelot.
"Berserker, since you are guarding here, does that mean all of this was arranged by Rin?"
Although it was a question, her tone was resolute, leaving no room for doubt. The Black Knight could only nod his helmet to confirm Saber's words.
Before Saber could speak again, the Black Knight was the first to draw the knight's sword that had been tucked behind his waist, hidden from public view. The sword appeared before Saber for the first time from its scabbard, but unfortunately, it was still shrouded in a layer of hazy black mist, obscuring its appearance.
This sword was neither picked up nor stolen. Unlike the one the Black Knight had been using, which he had taken from Archer, this was truly the noble phantasm of this Black Knight.
After drawing this sword, the Black Knight for the first time gripped the hilt with both hands, holding the sword at the same height as his right shoulder, adopting a battle stance. This was Saber's standard knightly battle stance all along.
"Berserker, do you want to have a knight's duel with me?"
Seeing Lancelot like this, Saber immediately understood his meaning. Knowing that she couldn't proceed without overcoming this obstacle, Saber held her holy sword and adopted the same battle stance.
Being in the same Holy Grail War, they would eventually be opponents. Saber had long prepared herself mentally for a confrontation with the Berserker. In the grave atmosphere, heavy as a mountain, both parties in the duel took their first step simultaneously—
"Clang!"
Two holy swords of the same origin collided! One was invisible, hidden by wind, and the other shrouded in black mist. The two elves holy swords, reunited after a long separation, exchanged their first greeting!
In their very first exchange, Saber was instantly pushed to a disadvantage, barely parrying the Black Knight's descending blade. It was only in this first encounter with the Berserker, who had dominated the entire Holy Grail War, that she truly understood his power. Even in the knight's sword skills that Saber had refined her entire life, this Berserker's martial arts were still superior to hers. The knight's longsword, shrouded in black mist, vibrated and withdrew. The Black Knight quickly closed in and crashed into her, and Saber was sent flying backward, utterly unable to resist... The clang of metal echoed through the spacious courtyard of Ryudoji Temple, as a knight's duel, a unique feature of the European Middle Ages, unfolded here. The petite silver-armored female knight was completely overwhelmed by her opponent. Precisely because they were using the same martial arts at which both excelled, Saber, whose ability parameters were completely suppressed, was utterly unable to contend.
"Clang!"
Her body, difficult to control, was directly sent flying. Saber no longer remembered how many times she had gotten back up. The core of knight's sword skills is simplicity, directness, and broad, sweeping movements, to deliver each sword strike along the most direct path, over the shortest distance, wielding the sword with both hands and the full power of the body, to attack the most vital points of the opponent.
And such martial arts, in front of an equally skilled opponent, once one falls into an absolute disadvantage in strength and speed, it becomes impossible to recover, because it is too straightforward and lacks varied moves.
Saber had been sent flying into mid-air countless times, effortlessly knocked to the ground countless times.
Saber had given up counting, for she could no longer remember.
What kind of strongest Servant class? Who made that up? It was a complete mockery of Saber at this moment. She was like a small boat in a storm. Facing the Berserker's swinging knight's longsword, she couldn't even put up a resistance, couldn't even manage a single decent counterattack.
Why doesn't he kill me?
The battered Saber used her holy sword to support her body, preventing herself from collapsing, perplexed in her heart. However, before she could think much more, the approaching sword's edge was already upon her!
Saber, resisting in haste, was inevitably struck hard once again and sent flying to the other side of the temple courtyard.
Is he toying with me?!
However, even the nameless fire burning in Saber's heart could not change anything; the Black Knight's offensive remained unstoppable.
The Black Knight's sword, whose true form was obscured, was unimaginably sharp. In its rapid swings, it cut through the air resistance, not even stirring a hint of wind pressure.
Facing such a fierce offensive from her opponent, her hands and feet had long gone numb, losing all sensation. The pain was no longer registered. Saber could no longer keep up with the Black Knight's movements. The enemy's strength, several times greater than her own, and his relentless attacks were gradually eroding her spirit.
It's already impossible to resist. Is this how it ends? Is that outcome truly destined to be unchangeable... In a moment of daze, a voice she had once been absolutely unwilling to acknowledge suddenly echoed in her mind:
"So-called destiny is merely an excuse for the defeated! Any regret or tragedy is only caused by the inadequacy of the person involved!"
Saber, using her last ounce of strength, knelt on the ground to block the heavily descending black sword. Behind the Black Knight, whose power was like a collapsing mountain, she suddenly saw the black-haired girl in red, looking down at her with a scornful, mocking expression. Suddenly, Saber found strength from somewhere, rolled on the ground, and dodged Lancelot's sword—
"Anyone but her, I absolutely don't want to be looked down upon by her!"
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