Artoria Alter stared fixedly at Morgan, her eyes brimming with disbelief.
Why? Why was this woman here of all places?!
As the thought crossed her mind, she turned her gaze toward Adam.
Could it be because of him?
Moments later, Artoria Alter shifted her eyes back to Morgan. Unbidden, memories of the Proper Human History Morgan flooded her thoughts.
Morgan was Artoria Alter's older sister. In a more abstract sense, she could even be considered her mother.
At the same time, Artoria Alter and Morgan were like mirrors reflecting one another.
After all, the current Artoria had undergone inversion, and to a certain degree, Artoria Alter might have been emulating her "wicked" elder sister.
In Artoria Alter's recollection, Morgan was a woman who simply could not live without cursing everything around her.
Yet Queen Morgan's regal aura might actually have surpassed her own.
Moreover, Morgan may well have been even more beloved by Britain than Artoria Alter ever was.
Nearly half of the Knights of the Round Table had come through Morgan. For that alone, Artoria Alter supposed she ought to feel a grudging gratitude.
Had Morgan not gone to such painstaking lengths to plant spies around her, Artoria Alter would never have been able to win over so many knights to her cause.
But then Morgan had played that one card…
Mordred…
That single spark had ignited the total collapse of Artoria Alter's kingdom.
At the memory, Artoria Alter clicked her tongue, her glare toward Morgan sharpening with even greater hostility.
"I never imagined I'd see you again here—you woman who brings nothing but misfortune."
"You really are impossible to shake off, my dear elder sister~"
Morgan's brow furrowed at Artoria Alter's sarcastic tone. Still riding high on the thrill of the moment, she didn't pay it much mind.
Probably…
"I didn't expect to run into you here either, my foolish little sister."
"You wretched red dragon—oh, pardon me…"
Morgan's eyes traced over Artoria Alter's pitch-black armor and the corrupted form of Excalibur, so utterly removed from its former pure and holy state.
"You must be… the black dragon now, yes?"
Morgan glanced at Artoria Alter's hair.
"That irritating ahoge on your head has vanished as well."
"Your current appearance is far more pleasing to the eye than before."
Morgan flashed Artoria Alter a mocking smile.
Why would Morgan claim that Artoria Alter looked better now?
It was not merely because of her inverted state.
More than that, the aura Artoria Alter now projected felt somehow reminiscent of Morgan herself.
In essence, Morgan was indirectly praising herself while belittling Artoria Alter.
Artoria Alter naturally caught the subtext. Her brows twitched uncontrollably several times.
Clearly, beneath her composed exterior, her heart was anything but calm.
"Enough pointless chatter. Let's settle our old scores right here and now!"
Seeing Artoria Alter's composure starting to crack, Morgan smiled.
Yet it was obvious that mere verbal jabs were nowhere near enough to quench the deep-seated hatred Morgan harbored toward Artoria.
"A once-in-a-millennium opportunity like this!"
"I wouldn't dream of passing it up!"
"Prepare yourself to face my wrath!"
As she spoke, the core of the blue-black lance in Morgan's hand glowed brightly. She drove it hard into the ground.
The instant the lance embedded itself, several blue magic circles flared to life.
Artoria Alter's instincts screamed of danger from above. She dodged swiftly.
Where she had stood just seconds earlier, a colossal blue energy lance slammed down, shattering the earth and its foundations.
Artoria Alter regained her footing, eyeing the abnormal destructive force. Something felt distinctly off.
Had Morgan always possessed this level of power?
She set those questions aside for later.
Since she had been attacked, she refused to show any weakness in return.
Artoria Alter raised her inverted Excalibur and swung it fiercely toward Morgan. A black-and-crimson beam dozens of meters wide erupted forth and streaked toward her target.
Morgan began to raise a magical defense barrier—
Just then, Mash rushed onto the scene and deployed her defensive Noble Phantasm.
Lord Chaldeas
Mash's Noble Phantasm intercepted and nullified every ounce of Artoria Alter's energy blast with flawless precision.
The current Mash watched in awe as this version of herself effortlessly achieved what she herself could never manage right now. Her eyes sparkled with admiration.
"As expected of my mentor!"
Artoria Alter shot a surprised glance at the fully equipped Mash. This version felt entirely different from the Mash she had encountered earlier.
Splendid gear, pristine white armor—especially that formidable shield.
She then looked at the other Mash, whose equipment still seemed somewhat basic, leaving more of her body exposed, as if not yet fully unlocked.
Recalling their respective performances—one who had struggled even against a restrained attack, the other who had just blocked what was nearly her full-powered strike—Artoria Alter compared the gap in their capabilities and equipment, murmuring to herself:
"Could this be… after she's fully grown into her power…?"
Morgan cast a surprised look at the enhanced Mash.
"What are you doing here?"
"Do you doubt my ability to defeat Artoria?"
Clearly, Morgan was not grateful for the assistance. She had wanted to crush—defeat—Artoria Alter on her own.
The enhanced Mash waved her hands in a fluster.
"That's not it at all, Lady Morgan!"
"I only wanted to help. Besides, it was the Master's command."
Morgan furrowed her brow and glanced toward Adam.
"Hubby's orders…"
Is even my husband underestimating me?
No, he must have his reasons.
Could it be…?
Gazing at the shield held by the enhanced Mash, Morgan seemed to realize something. She turned to Artoria Alter with an expression of utmost mockery.
"Artoria…"
"This shield once protected you, didn't it?"
"Well, the tables have turned!"
"Now this shield protects not you, but me—Morgan!"
So that was it. As expected of her husband, devising such a perfectly cutting strategy.
Morgan understood the intent completely.
Adam: "?"
Standing off to the side, Adam could only respond with a silent question mark in his mind. He listened to Morgan's words in a daze and blinked.
You can really pull something like that off?
Artoria Alter's face twitched at Morgan's declaration.
In her current state, nothing infuriated Artoria Alter more than betrayal. Those words had struck directly at her deepest wound.
In a flash, she raised her inverted Excalibur high and unleashed her Noble Phantasm at Morgan. Whether deliberate or not, she cried out its true name.
"Excalibur Morgan!"
***
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