Were the two Command Spells used to strengthen Arthur?
No, rather than strengthening, they were more like forcing Arthur to fall.
Mad Enhancement, the reinforcement of Command Spells, plus the power taken from Naoki… In terms of raw strength, the current Arthur might be the strongest Servant in this Holy Grail War. In a one-on-one fight, perhaps no one could confidently claim certain victory.
"AAAAAAARRRRRR—!!"
The black beast's roar unleashed a powerful storm, sweeping through the entire lobby. The floor tiles shattered and flew, and the pillars' surfaces were covered in large cracks, looking fragile as if they'd collapse with a single touch.
The unpleasant Mana radiating from his body also caused Naoki's magic circuits to ache continuously, a burning sensation spreading through his entire body.
*BAM!*
The pitch-black Holy Sword struck the ground heavily. His red eyes glared sharply at Naoki, like a beast eyeing its prey. Foul vapor constantly streamed from his mouth, his body tense, ready to pounce at any moment.
Seeing Arthur in this state, Naoki couldn't help but show a trace of anguish.
"How pitiful, Arthur, to be reduced to this. Doesn't this mean there's no trace left of the you from before?"
No one would believe that the King of Knights, once radiant like the sun, had fallen to a state indistinguishable from a beast. Far from a sun, he now seemed to have crawled out of a muddy pit.
Even his roars sounded repulsive.
"As expected of the venomous queen who despises King Arthur, huh? Doing something like this is so you, Morgan. Even if it's not your own sister, as long as it's King Arthur, you'd hate them without exception, wouldn't you?"
"AAAAAARRRRRR—!!"
It wasn't Morgan who answered Naoki, but Arthur's roar.
Though called a roar, to Naoki's ears, it held no anger. Only apologies, regret, and unwillingness.
Unwillingness to have become this, apologies for having to swing his sword at him, and regret for meeting him again in this form.
"What are you thinking about, you idiot…"
Naoki raised his hand and removed his Mystic Eyes Killer. His sky-blue Mystic Eyes emitted a faint, flame-like glow. At his feet, a summoning ritual's Magecraft array unfolded simultaneously, with surging flames bursting forth.
Seeing this, Morgan, watching from the upper floor, couldn't help but be stunned.
(He can still use Summoning Magecraft? Does he still have that much Mana left?)
(But even if he uses Summoning Magecraft, what's the point? The limit of Summoning Magecraft is tied to your Mana. With far less Mana than before, how much power can you muster now? Not even a fifth.)
As Morgan predicted, though Naoki used Summoning Magecraft, the endless sea of flames from before didn't appear. No field formed—only flames coiled around his hands, burning quietly.
That's all?
(This is my full strength now… Severely weakened, about a tenth?)
Naoki gave a bitter smile.
And at that moment—
"AAAAAARRRRRR—!!"
With a roar and a fierce gust of wind, the pitch-black sword's light suddenly tore through the ground, slashing toward Naoki at godlike speed!
*BOOM!*
An explosion and rumble erupted together. Thick dust and black light instantly engulfed everything in front, stretching from Arthur to outside the hotel. A massive crack was carved into the ground.
And at its end, there was no sign of Naoki.
"Did he vanish instantly?"
Watching the scene through Magecraft, Morgan smiled and looked at Merry. "It failed from the start. You overestimated his abilities, Merry."
Two Command Spells, plus Mad Enhancement and the stolen power—Arthur now could be called twice the Arthur, akin to Gawain. If viewed through a Master's ability values, aside from Luck, all his stats were at least A+, even surpassing Heracles!
An attack like that—Naoki in his current state couldn't possibly withstand it.
"Not necessarily, Morgan."
Facing Morgan's mockery, Merry remained unfazed, sipping her tea. "Do you think Naoki would crumble to nothing so easily? If he were that fragile, Manaka would've killed him countless times already."
"You mean he's still alive?"
"Just watch."
Morgan refocused on the screen. The scene wasn't much different from before, but there was a slight difference.
Near the ceiling—or rather, on the ceiling—someone stood upside down.
"He flew to the ceiling before it hit."
"He's fine, isn't he? Haaa…"
Merry let out an unconscious sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, on the ceiling, looking at the crack Arthur's sword had carved below, a sense of surviving death made Naoki draw a cold breath. "If that had hit, I'd be dead on the spot. Truly merciless—the Command Spell's effect is incredible."
"But an attack like that, if it doesn't hit, is meaningless."
How to fight this Arthur and how to defeat him—Naoki had already thought it through.
In short—
"Just finish it in one life, right?"
*BAM!*
Flames erupted from his palm. One second, Naoki was on the ceiling; the next, he was in front of Arthur!
*DUAGH!*
A fiery fist and black sword clashed violently, the resulting explosion and gusts of flame and black mist bursting forth!
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
On the rooftop of a building outside the hotel.
Atalanta stood at the edge, facing the wind, gazing at the hotel's roof. She readied her bow and arrow, aiming at the sky, pulling the bowstring to its limit.
"—With my bow, I beseech the protection of Apollo and Artemis—"
"—Offer this calamity—"
Minimizing the range of her previous Anti-Army Noble Phantasm to target only the hotel's roof.
[Do it, Atalanta.]
(Understood, Rei.)
"—[Phoebus Catastrophe]—"
As she called its true name, two arrows shot from the bowstring, soaring high into the sky.
The next second.
An infinite rain of light shone down from the heavens!