"Hahaha... you are truly an interesting Master," Artoria Alter's soft laughter flowed amidst the vast training arena.
Without any further warning, the Dark Knight raised her black sword high.
BAM!
The giant sword was swung vertically with full force, cleaving the air and targeting Ritsuka's body.
However, with incredibly sharp reflexes, Ritsuka stepped sideways agilely, letting the deadly blade only smash into the arena floor until it shattered to pieces.
"Thank you for the compliment," Ritsuka replied calmly.
At the same time, the young man twisted his body, using the momentum of his dodge to launch a heavy blow towards the side of Artoria's armored stomach. His right hand glowed brightly, coursed with a highly concentrated Mana from the Dragon Core inside him.
Artoria clicked her tongue softly. Realizing the danger of the attack, she tried to jump back to evade, but her attempt was too late. Ritsuka's punch was not merely a physical attack, but a release of pure energy.
BOOOM!
Even though Ritsuka's fist did not physically touch the Knight's armor, a shockwave of immense energy shot out and struck Artoria's stomach squarely.
Artoria's body was pushed back up to a dozen meters. Her iron boots screeched loudly, creating a long trail on the arena floor to stop her body's momentum. The alter held her stomach for a moment, then stared at Ritsuka with her golden eyes widening slightly in amazement.
"You... have already mastered Mana Burst?" she asked to confirm.
"Yes, something like that. Although it's still far from perfect," Ritsuka answered. He slowly lowered his fist. "My level of control is still very poor compared to the Mana Burst abilities of you two."
Without giving Artoria a moment to breathe, Ritsuka dashed forward again through the cloud of dust like a bullet. His right hand glowed brightly once more, this time moving straight to target the side of Artoria's head.
"Naive," Artoria hissed coldly.
She merely tilted her head slightly to the side, letting Ritsuka's Mana-coated fist miss and only sweep the air next to her ear. Without a second's pause, Artoria twisted her body and swung her black sword horizontally, aiming straight for Ritsuka's waist.
Realizing the incoming deadly slash, Ritsuka did not panic. He immediately released all the Mana from within his body simultaneously. That explosion of pure energy acted like a rocket thruster, blasting his own body backward right before Artoria's sword could cleave his waist.
Ritsuka's body was thrown hard and rolled over several times on the arena floor.
He coughed softly, then hurriedly balanced himself and stood up.
"You seriously intend to kill me, huh?!" Ritsuka protested.
"A slash like that won't kill you, right?" Artoria retorted with an innocent, deadpan face. "Besides, that Wheel will definitely heal and resurrect you immediately if you are killed, that's what you said, right."
Finishing her words, the Dark Knight dashed forward again with incredible speed. The tip of her pitch-black sword was drawn straight forward, ready to pierce Ritsuka's heart.
In a split second, Ritsuka extended his right hand forward. Golden light particles gathered very quickly in the palm of his hand, solidifying and manifesting into the form of a holy sword, Excalibur Proto.
CLANG!
Blinding sparks scattered into the air as the two legendary swords from intersecting existences clashed violently. The shockwave from the clash of weapons cracked the floor beneath their feet.
Ritsuka gritted his teeth, exerting all his physical and magical strength to withstand the incredibly heavy push of Artoria's sword.
"Even though I can heal, dying from being cleaved by your sword is still painful, you know!" Ritsuka grumbled amidst the clash of power.
Behind their sword blades that were grinding against each other and emitting flashes of energy, Artoria's golden eyes stared intensely at the glowing sword in Ritsuka's hand.
"Even though I've heard it from you before, seeing it with my own eyes is still a very shocking thing," Artoria said, her tone implying deep amazement and curiosity.
She pressed her sword harder. "Possessing a Dragon Core alone will never be enough for an ordinary human to be able to lift that holy sword. Actually... who are you, Master? What kind of crazy past do you have that the sword acknowledges and allows you to wield it?"
Meanwhile, in another room separated from the training arena, the same tension could also be felt. A large monitor screen displayed a live projection of the brutal fight between Artoria and Ritsuka.
Hearing the dialogue from the screen, Rikka's emotions instantly exploded.
"What did she say?! She seriously intends to kill my Brother?!" Rikka shouted, full of anger and panic.
The girl turned her body quickly, glaring sharply at the Servants with her in the room. "Assassin! Mash! Go there and help my Brother right now! Kill that damn woman!" Rikka demanded hysterically.
However, before Mash or Assassin had the chance to take action, Oda Nobunaga immediately interrupted.
"Calm down a bit, Little Girl," the Demon King reprimanded in a flat tone. She was still standing casually with both arms crossed over her chest. "Did you forget about the ability of that 'Wheel'? The Master already explained it clearly to all of you, didn't he?"
"B-But still!" Rikka retorted with a trembling voice, both her hands clenched tightly in front of her chest. "Even though that Wheel is proven to heal my Brother's physical wounds quickly, there's no guarantee that weird object can truly resurrect him if he ends up getting slashed to death!"
Hearing the rebuttal, Oda Nobunaga turned her head slowly towards the teenage girl. Her red eyes instantly flashed sharply.
"Hoo..." Nobu hissed coldly. A cynical smile was carved on her face. "So... you dare to doubt my Master's words, Kid?"
Realizing the murderous intent suddenly exuding from Nobu, Mash swiftly stepped forward, positioning her body as a shield.
"Please calm down, Nobu-san," Mash said firmly but tried to keep her intonation polite. "Rikka-senpai didn't mean to doubt Ritsuka-senpai's words at all. She is only acting out of care and worry for her brother's safety."
Nobu snorted roughly. Her sharp red eyes stared intently at Rikka who was shrinking in fear behind Mash's back.
"Tch. It's because of reasons like this that dealing with a 'little sister' is always troublesome," she grumbled.
After taking a long sigh, Nobu glanced sharply at the empty space not far from her side. "And you, damn Assassin," she hissed coldly. "You can lower your weapon now. I have no intention of hurting your crybaby Master."
As soon as those words were spoken, the air in that empty spot rippled. The figure of the Assassin slowly revealed himself from the shadows, lowering his weapon that was already aimed and ready to shoot Nobu from her blind spot.
Seeing Nobu's hostile aura beginning to subside and Assassin retreating, Mash could finally heave a sigh of relief and lower her guard.
However, Nobu's attention was now fully sucked back to the monitor screen. Her red eyes flashed savagely, radiating an unstoppable desire to fight. Her body trembled faintly from enthusiasm.
"Hurry up and finish that warm-up, Master," Nobu muttered with a smirking smile, her tone filled with a bloodthirsty urge. "I really can't hold back anymore; I want to join in and destroy something."
In the corner of the same room, Director Olga Marie could only sit stiffly in her chair. The silver-haired girl massaged her throbbing temples, seeing the behavior of the Servants in the room who were highly reactive and dangerous.
"She is truly the true embodiment of a Demon King..." Olga muttered in a despairing tone.
Choosing to ignore the ticking time bombs near her, Olga refocused her gaze on the recording screen. Her breath caught again as she witnessed the flashes of light clashing—Ritsuka and Artoria were crossing swords again with power capable of leveling a building.
The hissing sound of the automatic door opening from behind broke Olga's concentration. Dr. Romani stepped inside and walked towards the Director's chair.
"Director, this is the draft of the medical report and the complete physical examination results of Ritsuka Fujimaru," Romani said, his tone of voice sounding heavier than usual. He handed a thick stack of documents onto Olga's desk.
"Alright, thank you, Romani," Olga replied. She accepted the documents and immediately turned the first page to start reading.
A moment of silence enveloped the two of them, before Romani spoke again.
"Director... regarding the contents of that report," Romani let his sentence hang for a moment. "Theoretically, can something that crazy really happen to a human's anatomy?" he asked. The orange-haired man's face looked a bit pale.
Olga's eyes quickly scanned the string of abnormal data on the paper. "You have read the entire archive about what he experienced in the Fuyuki Singularity, right? And you have also analyzed the data regarding the adaptation ability of the 'Wheel' inside him, haven't you?" Olga retorted without diverting her gaze from the paper.
"Yes, I have read it all. But still... it feels incredibly hard to believe there is such a terrifying ability," Romani said softly. "That healing and adaptation ability... it is not a blessing at all."
Romani swallowed hard. "This looks more like a cruel curse. A curse that rejects death itself... forcefully healing fatal wounds and demanding its user to keep living and fighting, no matter how shattered their mind and body are."
Olga closed the draft report slowly, letting out a long sigh.
"The mechanism of his ability does sound very simple and easy to understand," Olga muttered with a cold and serious stare. "But precisely because of that simplicity... the power of that Wheel becomes an incredibly strong entity."
Olga's brow began to furrow deeply as her eyes traced the lines of data on the report.
"So this diagnosis is correct, huh..." Olga muttered seriously. "His body is slowly starting to transform into a Phantasmal Species of the Dragon kind."
Olga looked at Romani for validation. "His DNA structure is mutating. The density of his bones, blood, and flesh now stores a massive amount of magical energy, almost resembling the physique of a real dragon. This Draconization (Dragon Mutation) phenomenon alone is already very concerning..."
The silver-haired girl paused her words for a moment. Her index finger then tapped hard on the very bottom part of the report paper.
"...but before we discuss that any further, answer me, Romani. What is the meaning of this anomaly note? It says here, 'There are two streams of Mana coexisting side by side'?" Olga demanded.
Hearing that question, Romani's face turned tense.
"That is..." Romani swallowed slowly, trying to find the right words. "Based on our laboratory analysis matched with your previous eyewitness report... One of the two Dragon Cores implanted into Ritsuka's body belongs to Artoria Alter who is fighting on that screen, right?" Romani pointed to the monitor that was still displaying the fierce battle in the arena.
Olga nodded. "And then?"
"That Dragon Core belonging to Artoria Alter has been completely tainted by the dense curse of All the World's Evils," Romani explained in a serious tone. "However, the second Dragon Core implanted by Merlin in his body belongs to the male King Arthur from another timeline. A pure dragon core that has an affinity with the holy element of the Sword of Holy Light."
Romani's eyes looked straight at Olga. "Logically, those two extremely opposing attributes—Curse and Holiness—should clash and destroy their vessel. However, miraculously, the two streams of power actually flow side by side without rejecting each other within Ritsuka's magic circuits. Complementing and completing each other, exactly like the concept of Yin and Yang from Eastern philosophy."
Olga's eyes slowly widened as her genius brain processed that conclusion.
"So... you mean..." Olga spoke haltingly, unable to hide her amazement. "Those two destructive powers that should be preying on and destroying each other... have now made peace and created a balance inside his body?"
Dr. Romani nodded slowly with the same amazed expression. "Yes. Defying all the laws of magic we know... that is what is happening inside that young man right now."
"And that is not the only anomaly we found," Romani continued. This time, his voice sounded slightly trembling.
He flipped to the very last page of the report. "We also detected another foreign power centered on his 'Wheel'. That power radiates an incredibly dense life energy..."
Romani's eyes widened looking at Olga. "Director... with life energy that dense and pure, theoretically, Ritsuka even has the capacity to create new life from nothingness!"
"WHAT?!" Olga screamed unconsciously. Her voice shrieked high, echoing throughout the entire room.
Instantly, everyone in the room turned to look at her with questioning gazes. Realizing she had become the center of attention, Olga's face turned red from panic and pride.
Without another word, the young Director immediately grabbed the collar of Dr. Romani's lab coat and dragged the poor man out of the room with stomping steps.
"What's wrong with that woman?" Rikka muttered in confusion, seeing Olga's hasty departure.
Not long after the incident of Dr. Romani being dragged away, the steel door from the direction of the training arena hissed open. The warm-up fight that had destroyed the entire room was apparently over. Ritsuka and Artoria Alter stepped out side by side.
"Oh, Madam Director is not here, huh?" Ritsuka asked casually, his eyes sweeping across the room which only had Rikka, Mash, Assassin, and Nobu left.
"Brother!" Rikka immediately ran towards Ritsuka. Her hands frantically felt the young man's arms and chest, ensuring there were no fatal wounds. "Are you hurt? Are you okay?!"
"I am fine, Rikka," Ritsuka smiled reassuringly.
After making sure her brother was intact, Rikka instantly threw a sharp and hostile glare at Artoria who was standing very close behind Ritsuka. However, she completely didn't notice—or rather didn't care about—Rikka's presence. Artoria's golden eyes were fully locked onto Ritsuka. Her unblinking gaze radiated a strange intensity.
Rikka's feminine instinct instantly rang loudly. 'There is something wrong with this woman', Rikka thought warily.
"That noisy girl just went out, dragging that cowardly Doctor with her," Nobu answered casually, responding to Ritsuka's previous question.
"I see. That's a shame since I needed her instructions," Ritsuka muttered. He then turned his body backward. "Well then, Artoria—"
Ritsuka's words were cut off instantly.
When he turned his head, his face was directly facing Artoria's face. Extremely close. Who knows since when the former king of knights had closed the distance between them until it left no space at all. Ritsuka's emerald eyes locked into Artoria's golden eyes. Their distance was so intimate that Ritsuka could feel Artoria's warm breath brushing against his lips.
A gripping silence suddenly enveloped the two of them.
Perhaps due to the intense fight earlier or because of something else, inside their chests, their blood was boiling. And their heartbeats felt like they were beating in unison.
Ritsuka stood stiff in silence. A very strong and intoxicating foreign urge suddenly crept up to his head, urging him to close the remaining millimeters of distance between their lips. Artoria did not step back at all either; her eyes were actually slightly glazed over as if waiting for that action.
However, right before Ritsuka's common sense was completely swallowed by that instinct, a hand pulled him roughly.
"Brother! Get away from her!" Rikka shouted, pulling Ritsuka.
The jolt from Rikka made Ritsuka gasp, instantly pulling his common sense back from that intoxicating urge.
Rikka immediately hugged the young man's waist tightly. She hid part of her face behind Ritsuka's arm while throwing a highly vigilant glare at Salter.
"Have you forgotten what she did to us in the hell of Fuyuki back then, Brother?!" Rikka protested insistently, her voice trembling slightly.
Ritsuka took a slow breath to neutralize the remaining heartbeats in his chest, then looked down and smiled gently at his sister.
"Calm down, Rikka. Salter won't do anything like that anymore. She has answered my call and is now officially our comrade," Ritsuka said, trying to reassure her.
"B-But still—!" Rikka still tried to argue, but her words were immediately cut off by Salter.
"I completely don't care about your past babbling," Salter interrupted in an extremely cold, flat tone.
Her golden eyes stared sharply, as if considering Rikka's fear as something not important to deal with. Salter turned to look at Ritsuka with a demanding expression.
"Rather than wasting time listening to this girl's whining, it's better if you immediately bring me the food you promised me earlier. Now."
The intimidating aura that subtly exuded from Artoria made Rikka jolt slightly and tighten her hug on Ritsuka even more.
Instead of getting angry at his Servant acting impolitely, Ritsuka actually just chuckled softly. He patted Rikka's shoulder gently to melt the tension.
"Hahaha, oh, it seems you're already starving, huh? Alright, wait a minute. Earlier before we fought, I placed the bag containing the burgers on the Director's desk," Ritsuka said casually like talking to an old friend.
The young man then turned around and walked towards Olga Marie's desk, with Rikka still holding the hem of his shirt and trailing closely behind him.
After Ritsuka and Rikka left, Artoria glanced towards Oda Nobunaga who was still leaning against the wall. The Avenger's red eyes glowed brightly, locking onto her figure with a dense killing intensity.
"Lower your leaking battle lust, Ruler of Japan," Artoria reprimanded coldly. "I am already tired. I want to rest immediately after eating my food."
"Hahaha, so you noticed it," Nobu's laughter boomed casually, even though the aura around her didn't subside at all. "What else can I do? Meeting such a suitable sparring partner right before my eyes, I certainly can't just let it go, right?"
Artoria stared at Nobu with a flat expression, but the corners of her lips were faintly raised, forming a challenging thin smile.
"After I finish resting, I will entertain you," Artoria promised. "When we faced off in the Singularity back then, you hadn't unleashed your true strength at all, right? So I'm a bit curious, just how strong you truly are when we fight all out later."
"Hoo... a good challenge. I will be looking forward to it very much, former King of Knights," Nobu smirked in satisfaction.
The brief conversation filled with bloodlust subsided. Artoria's gaze then shifted, looking at Ritsuka's back as he walked away towards the Director's desk.
"Hey, Ruler of Japan," Artoria called out suddenly without turning her head. "Did you... also see it?"
"Hmm? See what do you mean?" Nobu asked with one eyebrow raised in confusion.
Hearing that response, Salter fell silent for a moment. "No... it's nothing. Just forget it," she deflected softly.
Salter returned to staring intently at the back of the black-haired young man who was getting further away. Her hand unconsciously lifted, gently gripping the chest area of her own armor—right where her dragon core was located.
'This urge... why does it feel like it's getting stronger?' Artoria thought, her mind filled with question marks and a foreign turbulence.
'Is this turbulence purely caused by the influence of the Holy Grail's mud inside me... or is it due to the resonance from the Dragon Core in his body? Why can I feel such a strong feeling and pull when I am close to him? And also...' Artoria's golden eyes narrowed slightly as a blurry glimpse of a shadow crossed her mind.
A sight of a world filled with white fog, the smile of a black-haired young man, and memories of battles that felt so real yet she had never experienced.
'These terrifying memories...?'