"Hahahaha!"
Jalter laughed mockingly and harshly, her battle flag constantly stabbing at the battered Scáthach. Combined with Black Saber's attacks, they pushed Scáthach into a desperate situation.
By now, Scáthach's body was covered in wounds, her clothes were torn in many places, and her breathing was gradually becoming heavy.
Scáthach, who had been injured by Black Saber's Noble Phantasm in their last fight, was now struggling against the combined assault of Black Saber and Jalter.
If Scáthach were in her normal state, she still might not be able to defeat the two of them, but she could at least escape. Now, however, she could only resist with difficulty, waiting for her end—unless she had a trump card.
If it were the Scáthach from before she met Skaði, she might have gladly chosen to die in battle under the pincer attack of Jalter and Black Saber. Given their special natures, perhaps these two really could fulfill Scáthach's long-standing wish.
But the current Scáthach would never make that choice. Having learned the sorrowful story of her other self and Merlin's prophecy, the current Scáthach wanted to live!
"Gah!"
The battle flag piercing through Scáthach's abdomen made her cough up a mouthful of blood. Using the pain to focus, her eyes bloodshot, she raised her left hand to block a decapitating strike from Black Saber. With her right hand, she threw her magic spear at Jalter with all her might, while simultaneously tightening her abdominal muscles to trap the battle flag, forcing Jalter to let go of it to avoid the spear.
Having barely escaped the immediate danger, Scáthach warily watched Jalter and Black Saber standing not far away. With veins bulging on her hands, she pulled the battle flag out of her abdomen, leaving another pool of blood on the ground.
"I really am in a pathetic state! Here! Your flag back!"
With that, Scáthach threw the battle flag with all her strength, and it embedded itself deep into the mud beside Jalter.
"Hey! You guys should have something like a Holy Grail, right? Actually, I have one too. To be honest, I was startled when I found this thing in the Land of Shadows. But I soon realized it was useless to me. Although it can grant a person's deepest wish, it didn't seem capable of granting my previous wish!"
As she spoke, a rusty, battered-looking Holy Grail slowly emerged from Scáthach's body and floated above her head.
"But I've found that it's actually quite useful now. Because I want to live—Aaaaah!"
As Scáthach roared, the rust on the surface of the Holy Grail began to peel off, revealing its pure essence within. The corroded areas automatically repaired themselves, making the Holy Grail look brand new. At the same time, a crystal-clear liquid, like wine, appeared out of nowhere above the Holy Grail and fell into it.
In Jalter and Saber Alter's eyes, even with the Holy Grail, Scáthach, who was already at the end of her rope, could not escape the fate of death. After all, apart from the greater grail in Fuyuki City, other Holy Grails were merely limited wish-granting machines and magical energy concentrators.
Even if Scáthach had a Holy Grail, it would only give her a few more lives. They could kill Scáthach once, so they could kill her twice. They just needed to kill her a few more times, and it would also be a good exercise.
After all, Scáthach, who had been constantly hiding, would definitely not have had time to collect more magical energy for the Holy Grail.
However, when Jalter and Saber Alter saw the unusual phenomenon of the Holy Grail above Scáthach's head, their expressions changed simultaneously.
The peeling rust revealing a physical form, and the wine, symbolizing the blood of Christ, appearing out of thin air—all indicated that Scáthach's Holy Grail was not the kind they possessed, nor was it the Fuyuki greater grail, but the legendary Holy Grail that truly contained the blood of Christ.
"Stop her!" X2
"Roar~! My wrath!"
"Excalibur~!"
The raging flames containing endless curses and the torrent of magical energy from the fallen holy sword instantly engulfed Scáthach, who was holding the Holy Grail and about to drink the wine within.
"Boom!"
A massive storm, accompanied by high-temperature flames, leveled the surrounding several kilometers. A sky-piercing beam of magical energy tore through the atmosphere, leaving this ancient forest scarred and devastated.
Jalter pulled out her battle flag from the ground and stood shoulder to shoulder with Saber Alter, nervously watching the rising smoke and dust, awaiting the final result.
Click, click, click~!
The sound of high heels tapping on the ground echoed from the dust. An unharmed Scáthach, holding two magic spears, walked out with a relaxed expression.
"Assault Girl, go get your dragon. I'll handle things here for now!"
Jalter looked at Saber Alter, who was brimming with fervent fighting spirit, put away her battle flag, nodded to Saber Alter, and then disappeared from the barren land in a few leaps.
Scáthach lightly twirled the magic spear in her hand and asked Saber Alter, who was full of fighting spirit.
"Do you still want to fight? I'm not at the same level as before after being strengthened by the Holy Grail!"
Actually, if it weren't to obtain Merlin's prophecy and to help Skaði, Scáthach would not have chosen to be an enemy of Saber Alter. A more likely choice would have been to happily hand over that sword and corpse to Saber Alter, eagerly anticipating her growth and becoming strong enough to kill her.
But there are no 'ifs.' Fate had already made these two enemies.
For Scáthach, she only needed to guard the oath until the day Merlin's prophecy came true. So, Scáthach was not very willing to fight Saber Alter to the death. Just like this battle, Scáthach's main purpose was actually to delay Saber Alter's steps, allowing Skaði to complete the transfer of the Land of Shadows' entrance.
However, for Saber Alter, it was different. With her intuition, Saber Alter had already sensed the existence of something in the Land of Shadows that could make her stronger. She would never give up such an opportunity, and Scáthach, who was stopping her, was an enemy Saber Alter had to eliminate.
"old hag, when did you get the impression that I was using my full power!...Is Assault Girl ready?!"
"OK! Cold-Blooded Woman, unleash your full power! Hahahahahaha!"
Roar! Roar! Roar~!
A massive amount of magical energy erupted from Saber Alter, then surged and rose continuously, making Saber Alter look like a burning sun. Then, this violent magical energy began to thin, gradually transforming into another form of magical energy.
And Scáthach, who lived in the Land of Shadows on the outside of the world, was exceptionally familiar with the magical energy on Saber Alter. This was Primal Energy, true ether!
The reason Saber Alter could use true ether was because she had been strengthened by Aika when she signed a contract with her. And now, as a Servant summoned by Jalter, Saber Alter could directly use her contract with Jalter to draw Primal Energy from the legendary giant dragons summoned by Jalter for this very reason!
"Excalibur!"
The scene from Fuyuki City was re-enacted. The continuous release of the Noble Phantasm, which made even the 'Absolute Defense' avalon struggle to resist, reappeared in this Singularity.
"Artoria! If only I could have met you earlier!...Gae Bolg Alternative!"
PS: Regarding Scáthach's immortality, the setting in this book is that Scáthach will be reborn in the Land of Shadows after being killed. In this book's setting, Scáthach has become a conceptual existence due to her achievements, similar to how Servants return to the Hall of Heroes when defeated, Scáthach returns to the Land of Shadows when defeated!
Regarding Jalter and Saber Alter being able to kill Scáthach, the Jalter in this book is different from the Jalter created by the Holy Grail in the original work (specifics are not yet spoiled). The setting is that Jalter's flames use curses and grudges as fuel, so if Jalter goes to the Land of Shadows, she can use the grudges of the land of the dead to almost completely burn down the Land of Shadows, thereby directly killing Scáthach in the Land of Shadows with the help of Saber Alter's combat power!
---------------------------------
I hope you enjoy this fanfiction! If you're having fun and want to read 30 chapters in advance, feel free to check out my Patreon: patreon.com/TLScarlet
Your support means a lot so if you like the story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone.