As a fairy, Naoki possessed several abilities:
—Real-time spatial perception of his surroundings.
—Full support from the planet itself.
—Imaginary Manifestation.
And the ability to adapt himself in response to an enemy's fighting style—Self-Transformation.
Compared to the other three abilities, Self-Transformation was rarely used by Naoki, as it overlapped with Imaginary Manifestation, though there were differences.
Imaginary Manifestation modified the world itself, but it couldn't affect living beings. It was merely the ability to freely alter the environment and circumstances.
Self-Transformation, on the other hand, was an ability focused on himself.
No matter the enemy he faced, he could adjust himself to the most suitable state to counter them. Its specific form was a formal attire.
In the current situation, the most appropriate use would be to create an attack powerful enough to counter Arthur's slashes or a transformation to accelerate his recovery speed.
But—
*BOOOMMMMM!*
Amid the deafening explosion and blazing flames that shook the entire spatial barrier, Arthur's figure plummeted to the ground like a kite with a cut string.
Forcefully pulling the Holy Sword from his chest and tossing it aside, Naoki panted and slowly descended. "An explosion equivalent to a volcanic eruption… That should be enough to snap you out of it, right?"
Naoki now wore a fiery red formal attire, glowing like molten lava, constantly radiating heat outward.
This was a formal attire crafted with the imagination of a [volcano], continuously unleashing impacts on the level of a volcanic eruption.
Impact, fire, high temperature… The existence of this attire embodied the concept of a volcano.
Delivering a volcanic eruption-level strike to Arthur's head at point-blank range. The effect now seemed significant, worth the price of Naoki being pierced through.
(Fortunately, it didn't hit my heart. Otherwise, even with Avalon, recovery would've taken a while—looks like it's over now…)
*CREAK!*
A faint sound suddenly rang out.
Arthur, lying not far away with his entire body charred, shouldn't have been able to stand anytime soon after enduring a volcanic eruption-level attack. Yet, in Naoki's eyes, he was rising little by little.
"You're way too durable."
Even Naoki was slightly shocked.
Because he was a living seal for Vortigern, Arthur was now unconsciously using some of Vortigern's Mana, and Vortigern himself possessed the Holy Grail, making his Mana nearly limitless.
With this infinite Mana support, or perhaps unconsciously using the Holy Grail's power, Arthur, who shouldn't have been able to stand, miraculously did—likely that was the situation.
"Huuu… Haaa…"
Taking deep breaths, Naoki, who recovered to peak condition in a few breaths with the planet's support, raised his Holy Sword.
After nearly seven minutes of desperate fighting, he was back to square one.
(I feel like this will never end if it keeps going like this. I need to hit him with something big…)
"You… you…"
But as Naoki pondered, Arthur, now standing again, didn't attack immediately. Instead, he opened and closed his mouth, like an aphasic patient regaining speech, slowly uttering a sentence.
"You… uh… you… are… Naoki…"
"!"
Naoki's eyes trembled slightly, then he let out a heavy sigh. "You're awake? You damn fool, Arthur."
"Uh… ah… I… almost…"
As if suppressing something, the Holy Sword in Arthur's hand clattered to the ground. His hands clutched his head tightly, as if trying to crush it.
Something's wrong!
(Could it be he hasn't fully recovered… no, from his words, he should've regained some awareness, but—Vortigern's influence?!)
Arthur had been suppressing Vortigern to prevent his full recovery with the Holy Grail's aid. To do so, his own self, consciousness, and soul had nearly been consumed over the past half-year, leaving him almost a puppet.
Issuing a few commands was already his limit.
But now, through the battle with Naoki, combined with the heavy blow to his head and his unconscious use of the Holy Grail's power, Arthur was starting to recover slightly—hence, he was feeling pain again.
The pain of suppressing Vortigern at the cost of his life.
Vortigern was an apocalyptic device created by the island of Britain. Whether in human history or hidden history, its purpose was to destroy Britain. It wasn't something a single person could suppress and seal.
So, Arthur was now experiencing an adverse reaction.
No, more accurately, it was assimilation.
"Arthur… it hurts?"
"Ugh… ah…"
Trembling as he bent to pick up his Holy Sword, Arthur's body stiffly turned toward Naoki. But at that moment, Naoki was already in front of him, thrusting his own Holy Sword into Arthur's chest.
Just as Arthur had done to him moments ago.
Without any hesitation.
Unlike Naoki, who was a fairy, Arthur was a Servant. If his Spirit Origin was destroyed, he couldn't remain in this world for long. Relying on the Holy Grail might be a possibility, but Arthur couldn't do that.
After all, the true owner of the Holy Grail was Vortigern, not Arthur.
Embracing Arthur and slowly sitting down, Naoki looked at his now-calm face and sighed slightly. "You really know how to give me work. Do you enjoy getting beaten by me? It was like this ten years ago too."
"I've troubled you, Master…" Arthur's voice was faint. "I always believed you'd come here."
"I don't want trust from a guy. It's too much, gives me the creeps."
"Haha, is that so?"
Smiling bitterly, Arthur said seriously, "It's not over yet, Naoki. I can feel that because you've destroyed my Spirit Origin, the seal on Vortigern, which I've maintained until now, has also broken. The Unique Barrier manifested by Vortigern will soon disappear. After that—"
"Alright, alright, shut up for a second. I'm gonna shove something in you!"
Taking the Holy Grails he'd taken from Gawain, Lancelot, and Tristan, Naoki stuffed them all into Arthur's body at once, then grabbed his collar and said, "What, planning to go back to Avalon and sleep like this? You want to run off before finishing what needs to be done? No way. Get up, the fight's not over."
"Your three knights are worried sick about you, and Vortigern's about to rise. Are you the type to not seek revenge after being beaten once?"
"At least I'm not."
Naoki stood and kicked Arthur, as if urging him to get up.
"The one who'll take down Vortigern is Britain's red dragon, Arthur Pendragon, right?"