A fully recovered Okita stood beside the Director.
Guardian looked at her and shouted.
"Hey, Director! Are you insane?! Why the hell did you come here? You crazy bitch!"
"Shut your mouth, Guardian! Is that what's important right now? I'm the only Master here capable of supplying mana, you know?"
"In a situation like this, you expect me to sit out? You're the one who's crazy. If you understand, then stay quiet. Okita Souji, I'm entrusting Damascus's life to you. You can win this, right?"
"Yes, Director."
Okita was brimming with lethal intent. She looked exactly as she did in the Imperial Capital Holy Grail War. Deciding there was no more room for retreat, Okita sprinted toward King Arthur.
_Hoh, the one who broke my armor earlier. Fine. Let us see what you can do._
The wounds from the previous gunfire began to knit shut.
Okita discarded her sword and began running in a straight line.
King Arthur fired a beam of light directly at her. However—
Okita evaded it without difficulty. It was a marginal difference, but—
Okita was slower than Guardian. Even so,
She wasn't so slow that she couldn't dodge King Arthur's attacks.
She continued to charge along the shortest route.
King Arthur kept firing beams as if the effort was beneath her. Okita ignored the searing heat and kept running. Guardian's sword was lying near King Arthur. As she dashed toward that blade, she recalled Damascus's words.
"Stab King Arthur in the back with Excalibur, then slice upward to cleave her through."
"Understood, Master."
Okita Souji responded to the command of the Master within her mind. She closed the distance rapidly, performed a slide,
And snatched up Guardian's sword. The moment she gripped it, King Arthur swung her own Excalibur. The power of the light was immense.
And it showed no signs of stopping. The surrounding terrain melted under the intense heat. Seeing King Arthur maintain such output without any apparent strain, Director Olga Marie
Was struck with awe.
Perhaps she had already been frightened out of her wits, or perhaps she simply wasn't considering that the enemy's attack would fall on her if Okita were defeated, but the Director was acting differently than usual.
After picking up the sword, Okita continued to circle the area.
Knowing King Arthur possessed high-rank Instinct, she couldn't move recklessly. Okita continued to watch for an opening.
_I know what you are thinking. But it will be difficult. My body has fully regenerated. There will be no further opportunities for you to land a proper blow on me._
King Arthur spoke with absolute confidence.
Cu Chulainn, while checking on Damascus's condition, sent a mental transmission to Guardian.
'Damascus's condition isn't critical. However, he can't handle managing two Servants at once. You'll have to be the one to move. You consume less mana than I do.'
Cu Chulainn had quickly assessed the Master's state and made a judgment.
And that judgment was correct. Guardian was such an efficient Servant that unless he used his Noble Phantasm, his mana consumption was lower than the supply provided by Chaldea. Consequently, Damascus was finally able to recover.
'Got it. Providing support now.'
Guardian sent back a transmission and rushed to support Okita.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
He fired four rounds.
These were the fastest bullets Guardian possessed. With these, even King Arthur with her incredible Instinct couldn't deflect them instantly. Just like before, he aimed for the eyes.
He kept firing at her eyes to obscure her vision.
_An annoying one has appeared._
But she didn't target Guardian. In truth, from King Arthur's perspective, Okita was far more lethal. One slip-up and King Arthur could lose. Guardian's sword, Excalibur, was different from the one King Arthur held.
It was certainly Excalibur, but it was a strange blade that boasted nothing but absurd durability.
It was distinctly different from the sword Merlin had given her.
Okita suddenly threw herself forward, raising the sword high. She had lunged at King Arthur.
However, King Arthur extended her left hand forward for a Mana Burst while using the sword in her right hand to guard her back.
Clang!
King Arthur's Instinct was correct. Okita had intentionally used a large motion as a feint.
Once the battle entered close quarters, Okita went wild. It was a side of her never seen before. Until now, she had fought with a degree of caution due to her physical condition,
But now, she didn't care if her body broke. She relentlessly rained attacks upon King Arthur.
_You are nothing but a mad dog._
King Arthur's description was accurate. She was truly a rabid hound.
She continued to swing a sword that didn't suit her, and because her movements were so exaggerated, Okita's stamina quickly reached its limit.
"Cough!"
Okita coughed up blood mid-swing, but she didn't care if her hands trembled. She just kept swinging.
Guardian continued to reload and attack. He believed that attempting close combat now might result in him being killed by a Mana Burst.
"Just give me one lucky hit!!!!!!!!"
Guardian caused flames to erupt from his body and loaded that fire into his mystic tool. Then, just like before,
He fired three reinforced bullets.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just as Saber moved to react to the bullets,
Tree roots erupted from the ground, grabbing King Arthur's arms in an attempt to immobilize her.
However, this wasn't enough to hold King Arthur's arms. After evading the bullets, she continued her duel with Okita.
"I have to take the Holy Grail from this bitch quickly."
Having exhausted his mana, Guardian collapsed to the ground.
**
"Where am I?"
I was lying in a place where the entire area was a field of flowers. Where is this? Uh... wait? Is this Merlin?
"I want to see Magimari... Magimari!!!"
"What on earth is a 'Magimari'?"
Merlin spoke from behind me. I immediately swung my fist to punch him in the face.
"Die, you moron!"
"Whoa! What are you doing to someone you've just met?"
He dodged my fist with incredibly smooth movement.
As expected of the man who taught King Arthur how to use a sword,
His patterns were on another level.
"You're the half-incubus Merlin, aren't you? The one who sits comfortably inside his palace watching the Human Order go to ruin, occasionally mocking the Doctor through that weird 'Magimari' persona, and despite knowing you won't be safe if the Human Order falls, you're too lazy to help."
"Huh?! How do you know all that?"
Merlin was flustered. Dammit, I really want to knock him off his high horse.
"Ugh, it's so damn hard from the very first chapter. I feel like I'm losing my mind."
Shit, I shouldn't be doing this here. I need to help the others and have a real showdown. What do I do?
"Excuse me, but I want to get out of here. How do I leave?"
"Answer my question first. How do you know?"
"If King Arthur is running wild like that, then the legends of the people around her must be true too, right? Then the legend that Merlin is an immortal half-incubus must be true as well. So I took a guess, and I was right!"
"No, not that. How did you know I was Magimari?"
"The Human Order has been blown to smithereens, so how could an internet idol still be active? That only leaves Merlin."
"There is such a thing as an AI's automated response function, you know?"
"Huh?"
Wait, that was a thing?
Seeing my dumbfounded expression, Merlin finally let go of his suspicion.
"So that means you just guessed based on intuition and happened to be perfectly correct... I suppose that's one way to look at it.
Well, my curiosity is satisfied. You may leave."
"Okay, bye."
I turned to leave.
"Wait, where's the exit?"
"You know, if you go out now, it might just be a dog's death?"
"I don't care. Because I'm going to win."
"What can someone with almost zero mana do?"
"That's for me to figure out. Just show me the way.
Otherwise, I'm going to piss in your flower field."
"Eww!"
Merlin looked disgusted, as if he hadn't expected me to say something like that. Hurry up and show me the exit. Fast.
"I guarantee it, Damascus-kun. The moment you leave, you'll be writhing in pain. Then I'll just shoot up some morphine and fight. There's morphine in the supplies we received. If I take three shots, I should be able to fight."
"You really are a guy with no plan, aren't you?"
"Is there any situation right now where a plan actually works?"
"True enough."
Talking to Merlin was starting to give me a headache. There was no progress. This incubus had no intention of letting me go.
"What do I have to do for you to let me go?"
"Explain your winning method in detail."
"Okita takes Guardian's sword, goes behind King Arthur, stabs her, and then slices her through. Done!"
"Hmm... that won't work. Actually, Okita failed.
She's not dead yet, but it's only a matter of time. The same goes for Guardian and Cu Chulainn. It's a total stalemate now. You can survive if you stay here, but you're still going?"
"You're saying my team is about to die?! Then of course I have to go out there,
You half-wit!"
"Alright, alright. Instead, I'll give you this. Hup!"
A single flower appeared in my hand.
"What's this?"
"If you can just imagine this flower when you go out, this game is as good as won."
I immediately stomped on the flower. I crushed it into the dirt.
"What are you doing?!"
"I figured I'd remember it better if I did this..."
"Ah... no... actually, just leaving gives you the effect.
The part about having to remember it was a lie..."
"U-Uh..."
"Forget it! I don't need you! Just get out!"
Merlin, seemingly offended, suddenly started throwing a fit and told me to leave.
"I'm never letting you back in!"
"Okay~"
I walked through the door Merlin had created.
**
"Kid!"
"?!"
"Mas— Cough!"
When I woke up, my body was perfectly fine. Did that incubus actually give me a buff?
I could smell a faint scent of flowers coming from my body. Ooh... air freshener.
I even had three Command Spells. It was time to finish this.
_Is it Merlin? That man never shows up when he is actually needed..._
King Arthur looked somewhat bitter as she recalled Merlin, but there was no helping it. You were the one tricked by a weirdo. I used the Emergency Recovery from my Mystic Code on Okita and Guardian, and shared my rapidly replenished mana with Guardian and Cu Chulainn.
"Oh? Kid, where did all this mana suddenly come from?"
"Magimari."
Merlin, you son of a bitch. I'm going to tell the Doctor everything about Magimari. You useless bastard.
"Let's finish this, King Arthur. I order all Servants. Release your Noble Phantasms!"
Cu Chulainn was the first to act, summoning Wickerman. A magic circle formed beneath King Arthur's feet, and a giant of flames manifested.
King Arthur leapt across Wickerman's body while engaging in a fierce battle with Okita. With her condition now at its peak, Okita returned to her usual swordsmanship. Although
She made mistakes occasionally because Guardian's sword didn't quite fit her, she showed skill beyond expectations.
She was clashing blades with King Arthur more than twenty times a second.
Then Guardian released his Noble Phantasm, but this time he applied the buff to Excalibur instead of his own mystic tool. Excalibur vibrated violently, a tremor so strong it was almost too much for Okita to handle.
"Okita, remember what I said? Just do exactly that. Start now. Guardian, cover her!"
Guardian didn't even answer; he just rushed forward to carry out my order. He was blindingly fast.
King Arthur and Okita fought on Wickerman's shoulder, and in the blink of an eye, it became a 2-on-1 fight.
Intermittently, Cu Chulainn used Rune Magecraft to wrap wood around King Arthur's arms and legs to slow her down.
King Arthur was placed in a significantly disadvantageous position.
And then, Okita's three-stage thrust came out.
"First step, break the sonic barrier. Second step, Infinite."
And then Okita vanished. Surprised, King Arthur looked around.
"Where are you looking, moron?"
Guardian's incendiary round obscured King Arthur's vision.
And in that moment—
"Mumyo Sandanzuki!"
After three thrusts from behind Saber, she plunged the sword in and swung it just as I had instructed, inflicting a fatal wound on King Arthur.
King Arthur collapsed.
_It is a success..._
Without Merlin's help, we probably would have all died.
Now, once we deal with Professor Lev, it's over—
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
"How's that, you piece of shit?!"
Suddenly, Guardian started going off on his own.
"Ahaha, sorry, sorry... but I've been playing with her for over 30 minutes, you know? A lot of stress built up. Hahaha!"
Seriously, it would have been so nice to just end it gracefully. Why is he ruining the moment like that?
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