-------------------
After defeating Berserker, we immediately hurried our steps toward the Great Cavern, where Saber Alter was waiting.
'At this rate, we're almost there...'
When we were nearly at the Great Cavern, Director Olga began asking Cu Chulainn about the identity of the Saber inside it.
"Caster, you knew Berserker's True Name just now, didn't you?"
"Hm? Yeah, I did, didn't I?"
Cu Chulainn seemed to catch what she was getting at, and after a moment he put on a serious expression and began speaking about Saber's identity.
"...There's no way I could not know. That guy's Noble Phantasm is one everyone in the world knows about."
Romani, who had been quietly listening, thought for a moment, then went pale and opened his mouth in a heavy tone.
"...No way...!"
"Right. The most famous holy sword in the past, present, and future... Excalibur. The Saber in that cavern is the one who wields it."
Excalibur. It was a famous holy sword that just about everyone in modern times knew. According to legend, it radiated brilliant light that blinded enemies. But in the Fate series, it was basically a nuclear bomb... Anyway, its owner was the world's most famous king, known by everyone: Arthur Pendragon. Yes. The enemy we had to face was that legendary Knight King. Of course, I already knew that.
Hearing that, Director Olga and Romani raised their voices in disbelief.
"You're saying King Arthur has the holy sword!?"
"That famous King Arthur!?"
Watching the two of them react so entertainingly, Cu Chulainn spoke again in a grave voice.
"It's hopeless, but yes. That famous King Arthur is the enemy we have to face."
As he said that, he looked toward the straight scar running through Fuyuki and continued.
"That guy was firing off Noble Phantasms like they were normal attacks. He filled the sky over this city with the black light from his sword..."
"Th-that can't be..."
Director Olga staggered back, feeling a chill run through her, while Mash stared at her shield and steeled herself. Ritsuka was frightened by the enemy she would have to face, but was barely holding it down with a sense of duty. Tonelico, the moment she heard the words King Arthur, fell silent.
After hearing Cu Chulainn's explanation, we were about to continue toward the Great Cavern when—
"I am the bone of my sword."
From somewhere, that uniquely cringeworthy chant rang out, and an arrow immediately came flying toward us.
"Caladbolg!!"
Seeing Caladbolg come flying in the form of an arrow in an instant, Tonelico immediately tried to transfer it into the Water Mirror, but—
-Whoooosh!!
"Gate of Orcney...!"
"I won't let you have it your way, Savior."
-Vwoooom...
"Broken Phantasm!!"
Just as the flying Caladbolg was about to explode, Tonelico immediately threw up a barrier and barely managed to stop the blast by a hair's breadth.
-Boom!!
"Tch, blocked it, huh..."
The one who had fired the arrow at us clicked his tongue and began descending toward us. He looked exactly as he had when we first arrived at this Singularity. The Servant who had shot the arrow at us was Emiya. Yes, the protagonist of Fate/stay night, Emiya Shirou. That guy.
(Women aren't allowed to fight!!)
I felt like I heard some strange voice, but I ignored it for now. Anyway, he had descended in an instant from the top of Ryuudou Temple. Then he immediately projected Kanshou and Bakuya and started walking toward us.
"Trace On [Projection Initiation]."
After confirming Butler's presence, Romani immediately told us that a Servant reaction had appeared.
"Everyone!! A Servant reaction just appeared! Be careful!!"
"That's a little late..."
The arrow had already been fired, and now he was warning us? In any case, we immediately took battle stances, and he looked at us and said,
"I've been waiting for you, Chaldea."
As he said that, he pointed Bakuya at us and continued.
"Sorry, but your journey ends here. Now then, die...!"
"Master!!"
With those words, our Butler fired Kanshou and Bakuya, then projected them again and rushed toward me. Tonelico tried to block him, but it all happened so fast that she was a step too late. He was in front of me in an instant and was about to strike at my neck, and just as I thought I had to do something...
"Wait a second, Shirou."
"!?"
Butler looked at me with an expression that said he couldn't understand what he was seeing. His face practically said, "How did this guy know who I am...?" Anyway, to buy time, I started spouting whatever came to mind.
"I know who you are. Your name is Emiya Shirou. You're from Fuyuki, a graduate of Homurahara Academy, and after that you went to the Clock Tower with your classmates to study magecraft. Later, you became the justice-seeking ally of the people you always wanted to be, the brown-haired boy of Homurahara. Right?"
"How... do you know that...?"
'Yes...!! The so-called: Hey, long time no see strategy...!!'
My plan worked. Butler stopped his attack for a moment, and Tonelico immediately raised her spear and activated transfer magecraft to stab him.
"Got you!"
"Tch...!"
Seeing Tonelico's transfer magecraft, Emiya leaped backward at a speed invisible to the eye and put some distance between us. He still seemed dazed, as if his mind had wandered for a moment, and Cu Chulainn and Mash immediately rushed him and launched a surprise attack.
"Young lady, match your breathing to mine!!"
"Yes, understood...! Cu Chulainn...!"
-Crash!!
"Tch, so the plan failed..."
Emiya said that while blocking their attacks at once and retreating. Realizing he was at a numbers disadvantage, he immediately turned toward the Great Cavern where Saber was and temporarily withdrew. We immediately followed him inside, and there...
"Gulp... Hm? What is it, Archer? Did you come back after being defeated?"
"Sorry about that..."
Saber Alter, dressed in casual clothes and using the Holy Grail like cola, was welcoming us. Seeing her outfit, Director Olga sharply protested to Cu Chulainn that there was no way that could be King Arthur.
"Caster!? Didn't you say King Arthur!? How is that outfit supposed to be King Arthur!?"
"That... I don't know either..."
Cu Chulainn looked at her for a moment, then fell silent and ended up agreeing with her. As we raised an issue with her outfit, she glanced down at herself and explained as if it were obvious.
"Isn't that obvious? I am a king too, but even kings need to rest. Unlike some diligent someone who lives somewhere else."
As she said that, she instantly amplified her mana. Then she used that mana to don armor and pointed the reversed Excalibur at us.
"I'll deal with that woman. You handle the remaining shield and druid."
She immediately poured mana into Excalibur and charged Tonelico, and Tonelico likewise drew a greatsword and met Saber Alter's attack head-on.
-Boom!!
"Oh? You blocked my strike. Not bad for a witch, girl."
Tonelico answered that provocation in kind, lightly taking it and firing back.
"Y-yes, well... but right now you're so brute-force that you're actually easier to deal with...!"
Saber Alter, irritated by the counter-provocation, further amplified her mana. Just as the balance of power was starting to tip, Tonelico immediately transferred through the Water Mirror and appeared behind her. She instantly changed her weapon from a greatsword to a spear and thrust, but Saber Alter turned around at once, brushed the spear aside with one hand as if parrying it, and swung her mana-charged holy sword.
"Do you think such a cheap trick will work on me...! Morgan!!"
"P-please stop calling me that name...!!"
Tonelico immediately transferred again behind her, then condensed mana into a projectile similar to a heavy shot from Woodwose and fired it at her.
"This is... the blow that taught the hero Lainnek a lesson!!"
Saber Alter tried her best to dodge, but it was already too late. Tonelico's mana shot struck Saber Alter dead on. After suffering the hit, she complained of pain for a moment, then got back up and spat out the blood pooling in her mouth before continuing.
"Ptoo... You're pretty good... You're very different from her... But this is the end...!!"
She began invoking the True Name of the Noble Phantasm she had gathered mana for, intending to use it as a Noble Phantasm.
"Vortigern, the extreme light reverses. Devour strength!! Excalibur - Morgan [The Sword of Promised Victory]!!!"
The mana she had gathered began pouring out like mad, and soon it all erupted toward her. But Tonelico was not someone who would simply take that lying down. The pitch-black mass she had summoned instantly transformed into a sword resembling Excalibur, and with that transformed sword pointed toward the sky, she began releasing her Noble Phantasm.
"Holy Sword Essence... Maximum release...!"
At her shout, blue and black mana began to roil as if her sword were responding. Once her mana had fully gathered, she too brought it down and shouted,
"As a fairy of salvation, I cannot lose to you...! A holy sword is nothing but this much...! Take this!! Excalibur - Morgos [The Sword of Unpromised Victory]!!!"
-Boom!!!
The light of the two holy swords collided in an instant, and everything around them began to be blown away. Cu Chulainn, Mash, and Emiya, who had been fighting on the other side, also turned their attention there. Saber Alter, receiving her own Noble Phantasm in return, stared at her in shock and continued.
"That light... I see... You... took a different path than that woman... Interesting...!!"
Saber Alter further increased the output of her holy sword, and before long Tonelico was being pushed back little by little. But instead of looking flustered, she smiled with an expression that said, "This is even better," and told her,
"You fell for it, Altria."
"!?"
As she said that, she immediately threw the holy sword from her hand, then picked up a magical spear and transferred to her. She had used the Noble Phantasm attack as a feint and prepared the real attack separately. Startled by her sudden transfer, Saber Alter had no time to react and could only take the attack helplessly.
"This ends... here...!"
-Thud...
"...I, impossible..."
After piercing Saber Alter's spirit core, she immediately pulled the magical spear out of her chest and said,
"I told you, didn't I? You're easy to deal with because you're so brute-force."
-Swoosh...
Hearing that, Saber Alter let out a small, incredulous laugh and coughed up blood before continuing.
"Cough... I see... You've changed a lot... Morgan..."
"I told you not to call me that name!"
As Tonelico snapped at her, she smiled in satisfaction and said,
"Hmph... My apologies, Tonelico. Your victory."
Then, with a haughty expression again, she looked at Tonelico and said,
"Next time, I won't let it end like this. Now then..."
-Whoooosh...
After being pierced through her spirit core, Saber Alter departed, leaving the Holy Grail behind. Tonelico picked it up and said,
"Yes, next time, please win for once, Altria..."
Then she came toward me with light, dainty steps, looking thoroughly satisfied.
---------------------
"Looks like that side is done... What are you going to do?"
"Tch..."
Emiya fell into thought for a moment, then let go of the projected sword in his hand and raised his hands over his head.
-Clink clink...
"I surrender..."
With her gone, Emiya no longer had any reason to fight. So he simply surrendered. After surrendering, Emiya was restrained by Cu Chulainn's line and brought over to us. Cu Chulainn led him in front of me, and I asked for him to be released, then looked at him and said,
"Now that it's over, you can do whatever you want, Emiya."
"You're just going to let me go like this? Sorry, but the moment you do, I'll kill you. Are you really okay with letting me go?"
I smiled at him and refuted his words.
"Yeah, it's fine. If it's Emiya, you won't do that."
Hearing me, Emiya laughed in disbelief and said,
"...I won't, you say...? That's ridiculous..."
After saying that, he walked up to me as if he liked what he heard and said,
"Fine. You, make a contract with me right now."
"? I said you could do whatever you wanted."
When I looked at him in confusion, Emiya glared at me with an expression that said not to get the wrong idea.
"Killing you will be for later. For now, I'll lend you my power, since this is apparently a crisis for the world. You idiot."
"As expected, the ally of justice, the brown-haired boy of Homurahara, the Heroic Spirit of Butler."
"I'm not a butler. I'm Archer."
After saying that, I immediately began the contract ritual with Emiya. I raised the hand bearing my Command Spells and began chanting.
"Your body shall be where I stand, and my fate shall be your sword. Guided by the Holy Grail, if this will and this law are followed, then obey me! Then I shall entrust this fate to your sword."
When I finished the chant, Emiya, kneeling on one knee before me, lowered his head and answered my invocation.
"In the name of Archer, I accept the oath. I acknowledge you as my Master, Juhwan."
The moment Emiya finished his vow, red mana burst from my Command Spell, and Emiya and Fes became connected.
(You have obtained the wild Emiya!)
Anyway, with the Holy Grail recovered and Emiya in hand, we were just about ready to head back when...
-Good wor...
Someone cut off Romani mid-sentence and spoke to us from above.
"Well, well, I never thought you lot would make it this far... It's beyond what I expected, and beyond the limits of my generosity."
Yes, there was still one thing left. The very person at the root of this whole disaster...
"Lev Lainur..."
I glared up at him as he greeted us arrogantly from above.
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