Some time had passed since Storm Border clashed with the Olympus fleet.
More than sixty percent of the Olympus warships had been turned into drifting wreckage under Morgan's leyline-blocking armaments. Of the remaining forty percent, most were barely able to maneuver, capable only of firing sporadically.
In exchange, Storm Border had plunged straight into the center of the enemy formation. Enemies surrounded them on all sides, and their only ally was Drake's ship.
Again and again, Olympus soldiers took advantage of Storm Border drawing close, attempting to storm the deck. What they hadn't expected was that the enemies waiting for them there would be even harder to deal with.
Artoria kicked an Olympus soldier who had been pierced clean through off the deck. Behind her, Gray swung the siege hammer formed from Add, smashing another soldier who tried to attack Artoria from behind and sending him flying.
A volley of arrows came straight at them. Mash quickly stepped in to block it, sparing everyone needless trouble.
"Lady Artoria, can you spare a moment?" Olga Marie's voice came through the communicator.
"What's wrong?"
While continuing to repel enemies trying to board, Artoria responded without missing a beat.
"Melusine and the Valkyries are engaged with the Goddess Fortress, and it doesn't look like it's going well. Also, Barghest pushed in too far and seems to be surrounded by enemies near the flagship!"
"I'll go support them now." She glanced back over her shoulder. "Gray, you're coming with me. Mash, you cover everyone else!"
"Yes!" Mash immediately understood the importance of the assignment.
Unlike Olympus, Chaldea only had this one ship. While pressing the attack, they also had to make sure Storm Border didn't suffer serious damage on the battlefield.
"I'll handle the defense here," Baobhan Sith said, opening the spell tome in her hands.
Runes of different colors began to spread across Storm Border's deck, covering the ground.
Olympus soldiers who landed on the deck were struck as if they had stepped on landmines. Bombarded by Magecraft of various elements, they lost the ability to move, either falling off the ship or being blasted into the sea.
"Please hurry and support Miss Barghest!" Sakura urged.
With that, Artoria and Gray leapt forward one after the other, bounding across the rising and falling warships toward Barghest's position.
Originally, Barghest had been working in coordination with Melusine and the others in the air, harassing the Olympus fleet from below. Demeter's appearance, however, had shattered that plan.
Whether Magical Beasts or Olympus soldiers, none of them were particularly difficult to deal with on their own. But their sheer numbers left her stretched thin, barely able to keep up.
Her armor had been struck several times already, leaving damage that came dangerously close to piercing through.
If she hadn't reinforced herself in advance with the Gift『Divine Relic』, Barghest would likely have been wounded by now.
Even so, being uninjured didn't mean her situation was easy.
The masked Servant Saber standing before her, noticeably shorter than Barghest herself, was deftly directing soldiers and Magical Beasts alike, tightening the encirclement around her.
Not only that, despite Saber's seemingly slender build, each swing of her sword carried tremendous force. Even Barghest couldn't completely overpower her in terms of raw strength.
And this was at high noon. When Morgan had bestowed her name upon her, Barghest had been rewritten and granted the ability known as the 'Numeral of the Saint'.
Barghest couldn't quite make sense of it. She didn't dare let her thoughts wander in the middle of an encircled battle. Still, despite her rough appearance, Barghest was keenly perceptive, and a possibility quickly surfaced in her mind.
'Divine Relic'.
Not the incomplete remnants Chaldea had gathered from the island temples, but genuine, far more powerful artifacts bestowed directly by the gods of Olympus themselves.
"Sweep them away!"
Having arrived at a rough answer, Barghest stopped dwelling on unnecessary thoughts. She unleashed her Mana in a sudden burst and swung out in a wide arc, cutting down the Magical Beasts and soldiers rushing toward her.
Unlike Melusine, she had only boarded Storm Border back then because the situation was urgent, following Morgan and Shiomi without much time to think. Toward Chaldea or Her Majesty Morgan, she didn't harbor particularly complicated feelings.
She had lost both the enemy nation and her own world. Like a wanderer, she moved from one Lostbelt to the next, cutting them away, consigning world after world to destruction. Barghest had never been certain whether this was the right path, and she had felt lost more than once.
She wasn't afraid of fighting.
What she feared were battles without meaning.
From an unfamiliar fairy to a member of Chaldea, everyone treated her kindly and trusted her.
There were no rigid hierarchies. Everyone stood on equal footing, striving for survival and a better tomorrow.
Values completely different from the Fairy Kingdom, and the humans themselves.
They were full of wonder, yet understandable. She came to know that beauty.
Weak, yet they continued to fight. That was one of the reasons Shiomi and Her Majesty Morgan cherished Chaldea.
And so…
Even someone as strong as her wanted to protect these fragile yet resilient people.
To protect her companions and her friends.
"An opening!"
The masked Saber let out a clear, piercing cry. She leapt out from behind a slain soldier, spun in midair, and thrust her sword forward.
"Tch…"
Barghest dodged the blade aimed straight at her face almost on instinct. She poured strength into her next motion, swinging her sword upward and dragging it diagonally toward Saber's slender body.
A flash of steel.
There was no one in front of her anymore. Only fallen soldiers and Magical Beasts lay scattered across the deck, with even more still advancing from a distance.
She turned her head in silence and saw Saber lightly standing atop her blade. In the next instant, Saber flipped backward and landed neatly on the deck.
"You're different from these soldiers and Magical Beasts. You're strong. So why hide behind them?" Barghest tried to provoke her, using the tactics Shiomi had taught her.
"This is a battlefield. I simply chose the method with the highest chance of success," the masked Saber replied calmly. "The same reason I didn't pierce your throat from behind—"
Boom!
"Miss Barghest, are you all right?" Gray called out as she landed. "Lady Artoria and I are here to support you!"
"It's a bit tricky. I still haven't been able to get close to the commander's flagship." Barghest froze for a moment, then explained with a faint smile.
Without air support, the Olympus soldiers and Magical Beasts were especially troublesome.
"Then we'll break through from here," Artoria said. "Can you still fight, Barghest… no, Fairy Knight Gawain?"
"To be called that by a king once served by Sir Gawain himself… even if I were out of strength, I'd force myself to keep fighting."
As she spoke, Barghest stood back-to-back with Artoria and Gray, facing the encirclement of the Olympus fleet.
"More troublesome enemies have arrived. With just our current strength, this encirclement won't last long." Saber placed a hand on her mask. "Then let me show you my Noble Phantasm!"