Zzzzt!
A dazzling bolt of lightning tore through the heavens, piercing the thick clouds. Like a falling star, it struck the dust-covered plain and took form—a woman in a kimono.
The Shogun stood still, quietly observing the surroundings. The ground bore marks of violent devastation, the scorched patterns spreading outward from a central point. Clearly, a fierce battle had just taken place.
She instinctively ignored Astolfo, who sat nearby covered in dust while holding the unconscious homunculus, and stepped toward the center of the blast. Before long, she reached a massive crater, the earth cracked deeply all around it. Its depth testified to the sheer magnitude of the explosion.
Step… step…
She walked to the edge and looked down. There, in the crater's center, sat Mordred—armor shattered, face disfigured, her whole body bloodied.
"Huff… huff… That damn woman! I let my guard down!"
Mordred wiped blood from her face, cursing the already-retreated Frankenstein in a dazed mutter.
"No… no way?! She's still alive?!"
Astolfo, hearing Mordred's voice, scrambled to the Shogun's side in panic, staring down at the battered Red Saber.
"Hahaha! Yeah, I'm still alive! Surprised? Next up is you—hmm?"
Gloating that she had survived, Mordred lifted her head—only to see the Shogun. That familiar cold violet gaze instantly ignited her irritation.
"Yo… bitch… you finally showed up."
Clang!
She drove her sword into the ground and forced herself upright, glaring back at the Shogun.
"You're really hard to kill."
The Shogun sighed faintly.
Mordred sneered.
"Heh… yeah, thanks to you. We've still got unfinished business. Until I take your head, I'm not gonna let some weaklings finish me off."
She was likely referring to the grudge over Kairi's severed arm.
"Laughable…"
The Shogun's lips curled in disdain, her violet eyes sharpening.
"You hurt my subjects, yet speak so boldly. Seems unless I cut you down here and now, your mouth won't close."
Fiore's wound was also caused by this woman. If there was a score to settle, the Shogun had hers as well.
"Heh… we'll see whose head falls. Master! Heal me now!"
Mordred shouted to Kairi, who was hiding at the side.
"Right! By the Command Spell of Red—I order Saber to recover and strengthen her stamina!"
By phrasing the order this way, he achieved two effects with one Command Spell.
Buzz~!
One of the Command Spells vanished from Kairi's hand. Mordred's body was enveloped in white light. Her ruined armor was restored, her bloodstains vanished, and her overall physical abilities grew stronger.
"Heh… that's better! Thanks, Master!"
Boom!
She leapt from the crater and stood face-to-face with the Shogun.
She twisted her neck and wrists, gripping her greatsword with a crazed grin.
"So Berserker sacrificed herself for nothing?!"
Rider muttered bitterly.
The Shogun glanced at Astolfo, who knelt nearby.
"Step back."
Otherwise, he'd be in the way. She didn't add the last part, for his sake.
"Eh? Ah… I'll leave it to you then! Saber, avenge Berserker!"
Astolfo froze for a moment, then hurried away to Sieg's side, guarding the unconscious homunculus.
[By the Command Spell of Black—I order Saber to strengthen her abilities!]
At that moment, Fiore's voice echoed in the Shogun's mind. Watching from her private chamber in the fortress, observing through her automaton's projection, she had seen Mordred instantly healed. She knew it must have been due to a Command Spell. Thus, she raised her own hand and used her first Command Spell in response. If the enemy used one to boost abilities, she had to match it to counterbalance the advantage.
The rest… she entrusted to her beloved goddess.
As the Command Spell took effect, the Shogun felt her own mana and elemental energy intensify further. She summoned her weapon—Engulfing Lightning—which appeared in her hand, spinning once before she set it at her side.
[So this is the purpose of Command Spells… tools that can reverse the flow of battle instantly. Truly dangerous.]
Just like this—when near death, one Command Spell could restore everything. Such a power tilted the scales too easily. Ei's thoughts grew uneasy. It was fine for them to use it, but as enemies, they had to beware.
'She still has one more chance to receive her Master's blessing. It's necessary to sever their connection.'
The Shogun, of course, understood Ei's intent.
[…Draw her into the Plane of Euthymia.]
Plane of Euthymia was a special realm, disconnected from the world and isolated from outside links. Most likely, it would also sever the tie between Master and Servant. Whether it would work or not—there was only one way to find out.
"You bitch! How long are you going to stand there dazing off?!"
Boom!
Growing impatient, Mordred stomped the ground, blasting off like a cannonball straight toward her!
The Shogun closed her eyes, then reopened them, violet light gleaming.
Whoosh!
She raised her naginata skyward—
Zzzzt!
Fierce particles of lightning gathered at the blade's tip. The space around them began to twist. As her mana surged, the distortion spread across the entire plain.
The world suddenly stilled. Then—
Crack!
Like glass, the space fractured, cracks spreading until it shattered piece by piece, revealing a vast abyss of darkness behind it!
"!"
Sensing danger, Mordred immediately aborted her charge, leaping back with wary eyes fixed on the crumbling world.
As the fragments fell away, the blackness spread outward, unfurling like a hand closing in.
"Tch… what the hell is this?!"
She bolted toward the shrinking rift where faint light still remained. Yet no matter how far she ran, the exit stretched further away, unreachable, like a road in a dream. At last, the darkness overtook her, swallowing the final trace of light.
"Huff… huff…"
Mordred stopped, surrounded by endless black. Tense, she scanned her surroundings.
"Hey! Hiding won't save you! Come out and face me!"
The moment her voice fell, the ground beneath her shifted.
A gray stone surface spiraled outward, etched with the patterns of mitsudomoe. Around her stood nothing but ruined stone pillars and eerie crimson torii rising from the earth, all in a barren desert plain.
Above, a dreadful red-black moon rose halfway over the horizon, casting its grim light upon the scarlet, storm-tossed sky.
"Tch… a Reality Marble, huh? Guess you've got some skill!"
The realm felt suspended in a single instant, time itself frozen. This otherworldly domain didn't belong to the normal flow of existence, its very stillness weighing on her soul.
"No matter how you examine it, you will learn nothing. For this is not a realm mortals can comprehend."
"!"
Mordred's heart jolted at the sudden voice. She whipped around, sword raised, glaring.
The Shogun sat cross-legged in midair, the red-black moon looming behind her. As her eyes opened, a dangerous violet light flared.
"Heh… you make it sound so ominous. But isn't this just a Reality Marble? Nothing new to us. And dragging me in here—what a waste of effort."
Mordred scoffed, dismissing the realm.
"…"
At her words, the Shogun's lips curved into a rare smile—a mocking one, ridiculing Mordred's arrogance and disdain.