Chapter 242: An Incredible Thing Happened
An A+-rank Anti-Army Noble Phantasm versus an A++-rank Anti-City Noble Phantasm.
That was the disparity in the Noble Phantasms between Mordred and Saber. Under normal circumstances, Mordred, holding only an A+-rank Anti-Army weapon, could never overpower Saber in terms of beam-cannon destructive power or range, as Saber wielded an A++-rank Anti-City weapon.
It was much like Saber in the original story, who could not win against Gilgamesh's Enuma Elish even after liberating her own Noble Phantasm. The rank of the Noble Phantasm was like a massive mountain pressing down heavily upon Mordred.
...That was how it should have been.
But when the crimson beam fired by Mordred collided with the golden beam unleashed by Saber, the subsequent development was not Saber's golden beam overpowering Mordred's crimson one.
Instead, gold and crimson—Saber and Mordred, Excalibur and Clarent—remained locked in a stalemate, perfectly matched.
This, naturally, was not a problem of Saber lacking magical energy. With Shirou Emiya having re-established the contract to participate in the Holy Grail War using the Command Spell taken from Kairi Shishigou, and maintaining his projection of the [Six Eyes] to maximize the efficiency of that energy, the magical power he channeled to Saber was enough to ensure that, given her own efficiency, she possessed near-infinite energy.
It was impossible for her to be overpowered or held in a stalemate by Mordred's Noble Phantasm due to insufficient mana.
Fallen...
"Is it the Command Spells?" Shirou Emiya speculated in his heart as he watched the locked-on Saber and Mordred. "Is the massive surge of power granted by the enhancement of two Command Spells temporarily allowing her to match Saber in output?"
"...No, it is not just a matter of the Command Spells. It is also a matter of mindset."
"Clarent Blood Arthur, Mordred's Noble Phantasm, is fired by injecting her hatred for Saber into the Clarent."
"If it were still just hatred like before, Saber would not care."
"But it is clear that what Mordred is using now is not her hatred for Saber."
"It is something else entirely..."
It was the determination to defeat Saber; It was the will to achieve victory; It was the faith to fulfill Kairi Shishigou's expectations; It was the resolve never to give up, even now;
Although compared to the holy sword—forged from the material of the tragic and noble dreams held by all warriors who fell on the battlefield, reflecting their past, present, and future—the Noble Phantasm in Mordred's hands responded only to her own desires and the expectations of Kairi Shishigou.
But that single-minded expectation was enough.
Mordred's truest thoughts were rushing toward Saber in this way, carried along by that torrent of magical energy. And Saber, who had herself wanted to understand this feeling, felt Mordred's heart through it.
In fact, the relationship between Saber and Mordred was much like that between the Maiden of Winter and Illyasviel. As a homunculus created with the Maiden of Winter as a template, Illyasviel could read the memories belonging to the Maiden by observing the land of Fuyuki. Likewise, as a homunculus created with Saber as a template and genetic donor, and brought to life through Morgan le Fay's magecraft, Mordred—when summoned in the original Holy Grail War in Romania—carried a connection.
Perhaps due to the influence of the Holy Grail War ritual itself being so widely diffused in this parallel world that magi were holding wars and summoning Servants at every moment, it seemed inevitable that Saber, who left behind such high renown in historical legends as King Arthur, would eventually be summoned in some subspecies Holy Grail War.
Thus, just as Archer (EMIYA) from the original Fate/stay night Fifth Holy Grail War—after being summoned into the world—would eventually download and share the experiences of his future self as the Archer (Lily) Shirou Emiya encountered him, Mordred would also, from time to time, dream of the moment Saber pulled the Sword of Selection. Even though, at that time, she should not have even been born yet.
And as Saber actually descended into this parallel world and appeared before Mordred, this resonance undoubtedly grew stronger.
Almost the instant they burst forth with their full magical energy to liberate their Noble Phantasms, letting the beam cannons containing their thoughts make contact—
An incredible thing happened.
"Where is this..."
Before Saber could respond to the familiar scene before her, the voice of a very annoying mage sounded in their ears: "He who pulls this sword shall be King."
"Do you wish to try? However, before you attempt to grasp this sword, you would do well to think carefully—"
"Aside from you, is there perhaps a candidate more suited to be King than yourself?"
"If that more suitable person were to become King, might she not change the fate of Britain, which is filled with war and famine, and turn it into a true Utopia?"
'Here, it is indeed...'
The golden sword glimmered atop the hard rock. It was not Excalibur, which Saber had been holding tightly just moments ago, but the Sword of Selection—Caliburn.
"Since you are here, Merlin, then this is indeed a dream."
Stating a certainty in a questioning tone, Saber ignored Mordred, who had been pulled into the space alongside her, and looked toward the direction from which the voice had come. "Are you not coming out yet?"
"Hahahaha, discovered already. Your [Instinct], Artoria, is as sharp as ever." The incubus with hair that faded from white to pink walked out with a smile. "I was actually hoping to tease you both a little longer."
"Father, child is unfilial; child has let you down, Gwa!"
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