"The Round Table—release."
As Mordred charged forward, the Lion King softly uttered those words, and the entire grand hall began to change dramatically.
In the blink of an eye, the wall behind the Lion King dissolved into pure spirit particles, vanishing completely. At the same time, a powerful wind roared in from behind her.
Before them now stretched a scene like a furious tempest—cliffs rising over a raging sea, clouds and wind swirling, waves crashing endlessly from afar.
"Wait, is that… was the Lion King waiting all along at the end of the world?" Romani's spirit projection flickered beside them, his voice full of awe.
And as the Round Table was released, revealing the world's end, the Lion King raised her hand, beginning to display her divine power.
With a single thrust of her holy spear, she sent the charging Mordred flying in an instant.
"What—!"
Mordred didn't even see what had happened. A flash of light blinded her eyes, and the next moment, she was already airborne. When she came to, cracks spread across her chest plate, the armor on the verge of breaking. Only then did she finally feel the searing pain shooting through her chest.
"How is this possible… that output speed, that burst of spiritual energy… Is this what a divine-class Servant feels like?"
Romani's astonished voice crackled through their comms as his instruments displayed impossible readings.
He had seen it clearly—when the Lion King raised her hand, a narrow lance of light, no thicker than three joined fingers, had shot from her spear. The dazzling blue energy streaked through the air in a perfect arc, piercing straight through Mordred's chest.
"Tch… This isn't even the same level as the Battle of Camlann…"
Mordred muttered, gritting her teeth, trying to rise again. But the Lion King had already lifted her hand once more—another spear of light shot forth, aimed directly at Mordred's throat.
Just then, Guinevere stepped forward, appearing in front of Mordred. The Knight of Calia swung his sword, its blade tracing a blue arc that cleaved through the incoming lance of light.
But the instant their weapons clashed, Guinevere's heart sank. The power coursing through the Lion King's attack was overwhelming—so much so that he nearly lost grip of his sword.
Frowning, Guinevere realized the Lion King's strength was beyond even his expectations—far greater than Gawain's, even. And though she'd granted countless blessings to her own knights, she herself bore no buffs at all—just raw, absurd stats. Guinevere couldn't steal anything from her… which made fighting her head-on nearly impossible.
"Wait… maybe there's a way."
He turned to Romani's projection on the side.
"Romani! Send a message for me!"
While Guinevere moved to execute his plan, on the other side, Artoria—now in her Supreme King form—was already charging straight at the Lion King.
"Come forth! All Arthurs across the worlds—show her what it truly means to be the King of Knights!"
She thrust her hand forward.
Beside her, Saber-class Artoria and her Alter counterpart appeared, one on each side, both wielding Excalibur. As they swung their swords, twin torrents of light—gold and black—erupted forward, overpowering the Lion King's two incoming spear blasts and surging onward toward her.
"Huh?! That—" Romani's eyes widened in disbelief. "Is that a spirit projection? Directly summoning Servant shadows? That technology isn't even finished at Chaldea yet! And she just summoned two King Arthur-class spirits at once?!"
"Oh? So this is what my alternate self relies on to challenge me?" The Lion King raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "A Saber-class spirit of myself… and another, the inverted shadow of me?"
She tilted her head slightly. "I've heard of Spirit Reversal technology before… but to think my reversed self would appear so dark and vile—like the very embodiment of evil. Truly… intolerable!"
With that, she lifted her holy lance, leaning forward like a lioness ready to strike.
This time, she didn't merely use her weapon to cast energy lances. She kicked off the ground—her entire body shot forward like a cannonball, spear thrust ahead.
Her holy spear spun like a drill, golden energy spiraling wildly. The furious power condensed into a massive golden vortex that tore straight through the twin light cannons fired by the two Sabers, carving a hole through them and surging toward Saber Alter.
Saber Alter tried to parry, but her blade was instantly overpowered. The holy spear smashed into her chest, and the spiraling energy ripped her apart in an instant.
Behind her, the original Saber tried to strike again, joined by Rider-class Santa Artoria, summoned by Calia. The two spirit projections charged from opposite sides, swords raised, magic flaring skyward.
But the Lion King merely raised her holy spear toward the heavens.
The spear spun once more, and a violent vortex of energy burst outward from her, swallowing both projections. The whirl of golden energy tore them apart and dispersed them like dust.
Her gaze then locked onto the true Artoria. With a single step, she closed the distance—each footfall heavy as a wave crashing upon the heart.
"Uwah!"
Artoria yelped, startled. Facing the Lion King in close combat was suicide. Luckily, Mordred had recovered and leaped between them, blocking the spear with her sword.
"Father, are you all right?!" Mordred shouted.
"—None of your concern."
"—Thanks! You're just in time!"
Both froze for a moment, taken aback. Then the Lion King said calmly,
"Oh, I almost forgot—you betrayed me again. But I must say, you call her 'Father' quite fluently."
"Eh?! No, that's not—" Mordred stammered, but before she could finish, the Lion King raised her spear again.
"No matter. I'll just kill you with Rhongomyniad again."
"Not even a moment's hesitation, huh… Yeah, that's just like you, Father." Mordred gritted her teeth, crushed under the holy spear's immense magical pressure.
Just as her knees were about to give out, Artoria grabbed her by the shoulder and dragged her backward. At the same time, two more Artorias—both Lancer-class—appeared astride their steeds, lowering their lances toward the Lion King. Spiraling golden drills of magic formed at their spear tips.
"Hmph. So even my own Lancer-class projections are included now?" The Lion King's tone remained calm, almost mechanical. "But shadows are still shadows. They can never match the real thing."
With a surge of divine force, her spear flared. The golden maelstrom shattered both Lancer shadows and erased them from the field.
Artoria watched in silence, her mind racing—but before she could act, the Lion King was upon her again.
After destroying five spirit projections in succession, the Lion King's pressure became suffocating. Each of her steps felt like a tidal wave pressing directly onto Artoria's chest.
"Teammates! Teammates! Somebody save me! Stall her!" Artoria cried.
"I've got you!"
Guinevere's steady voice rang out. He leapt between them, now wielding Vic's Spear. With a twist of his wrist, he activated Rune Overload. Lightning and flame intertwined as the spear slashed through the air, hurling a blazing golden arc toward the Lion King.
At first, she intended to counter directly—but seeing that ominous flame, she hesitated, then thrust her spear into the ground.
A storm of magic erupted outward, blasting Guinevere back. Yet the flicker of cursed fire on his spear didn't vanish—it devoured part of the Lion King's magic before finally fading away.
"Hmm… Chaos fire of Root origin? To think I'd see such a thing here. But alas—you haven't mastered it. You're only borrowing it through your Noble Phantasm, aren't you?" The Lion King's voice was calm, cold. "If you think that alone can kill me… you're naive."
"I never said I'd win with it," Guinevere called back, stepping aside. "Artoria! I've bought you enough time! Whatever you've got—use it now!"
As his shout faded, a golden flash burst from his flank—a sword beam shot forth, striking straight at the Lion King.
She raised her holy spear to block, and for the first time, she was pushed back a step.
"Oh?" Her brows lifted, impressed.
"You said shadows can't rival the original."
From behind Guinevere, Artoria stepped forward once more—this time clad in armor fused with regal robes. A golden sigil of four diamonds gleamed upon her brow.
"Then let me—at my strongest—face you head-on."
Gone was the frantic girl from before.
Now stood the Fairy Knight of the Holy Sword—Artoria in her ultimate form.