The endless sea of flowers shuddered as another intense clash echoed through the air.
Saber swung Excalibur Morgan with everything she had, chaining her strikes into a relentless, blinding flurry.
Yet, frustration was clearly starting to show on her face. No matter how much force she put into her attacks or how sharply she changed her angles, Rikka was always a step ahead.
Rikka smoothly parried, deflected, and redirected every single blow, her dark eyes entirely unreadable as she neutralized Saber attack.
A short distance away, Lady Avalon finally stood back up.
She casually brushed the dirt and crushed petals off her dress, completely unbothered by being thrown backward earlier.
She tilted her head, watching the high-speed clash unfold with a growing smile.
"I see, that makes sense," she murmured to herself.
It was obvious now why Rikka knew exactly how Saber moved. The fighting style Rikka was using to counter Saber was incredibly familiar.
It was the exact same foundation of swordsmanship she herself had taught Arthur Pendragon a very long time ago.
Even though the younger Rikka always claimed she loved magecraft and hated swinging a sword, it seemed her future self had eventually decided to learn the blade after all.
"I need to think of a good way to use this for her later~" she said happily. She had been trying so hard to get Rikka to learn swordsmanship to no avail, but now it looked like that stubborn rejection wasn't going to last much longer.
Back in the center of the clash, Saber was genuinely struggling. Since Rikka knew her style perfectly and could read her choreography, Saber found herself completely boxed in. Pure swordplay just wasn't working.
Pushing Rikka back with a sweeping horizontal slash, Saber firmly planted her feet into the grass to brace herself.
Frustration clouded her focus, and without even thinking about it, her deeply warrior instincts took over.
Dark, crimson-black magical energy suddenly flared violently around her dress.
Drawing upon the dense True Ether filling Avalon, she instinctively released a wave of dark prana.
The sudden shockwave of the Mana Burst blasted outward, forcefully pushing Rikka backward across the sea of flowers.
But the very second the dark energy erupted, Saber froze.
She immediately cut off the flow of prana, letting the violent aura fizzle out into the wind just as fast as it appeared. She lowered Excalibur Morgan, a look of guilt crossing her face.
"My apologies," Saber said, her tone laced with genuine regret as she looked at Rikka she just blasted away. "I let my frustration take over. I broke our promise not to use magical energy."
Rikka came to a smooth halt, her white kimono settling neatly around her. She didn't look bothered by the sudden blast at all.
"I don't really care," Rikka replied, her voice completely flat and devoid of any emotion.
She stared at Saber, letting her katana rest effortlessly in her hands.
"You can use it," Rikka added. "Your Mana Burst. Even Excalibur Morgan. Go ahead."
As she spoke, the eerie, bottomless void in Rikka's dark eyes suddenly shifted. The pitch-black irises flared with an unnatural, chilling light as her Mystic Eyes finally activated, casting a faint but piercing glow across the garden.
For the first time since the fight began, Saber's Instinct activated. The moment she saw the piercing glow of Rikka's eyes, a violent shudder ripped through Saber's entire body.
Her Instinct had been completely silent and dormant up until now, but it was suddenly jolted awake by a screaming alarm.
It was worse than anything she had ever felt before. Even when she fought the white dragon Vortigern alongside Gawain, their battle had lasted for seven days, giving her Instinct enough time to gradually adapt to the mounting danger.
But this was entirely different. The threat level spiked instantly from completely undetectable to total, immediate erasure.
The activation of Rikka's eyes introduced the literal End to her very existence, sending a paralyzing shock of adrenaline and cognitive alarm straight through Saber's veins.
Even though she had initially promised to avoid using magical energy and fight in direct combat, she now knew that was impossible.
Her Instinct violently rejected the very idea of a standard sword exchange. Her feet felt rooted to the grass, and she simply could not force her body to step forward into that gaze.
Saber realized exactly why this felt so different compared to before.
When the child version of Rikka had used those same Mystic Eyes, there was always a lingering warmth behind them.
The younger Rikka was tender, harboring a deep hesitation and a clear reluctance to actually cut her.
But the adult standing in front of her now was entirely different. That spectral gaze, flickering dangerously between a sharp blue and a vibrant pinkish-red, held zero hesitation.
There was no mercy, no warmth, and no reluctance—just a hollow, chilling certainty that Rikka would execute her without a single second thought.
"Go on, Saber. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of time," Rikka suddenly said, looking down at her left hand.
A sharp cracking sound echoed through the air, and deep, fractured lines instantly appeared across her skin.
Her entire body was already starting to break apart. Keeping this adult form and the Mystic Eyes active for too long was putting a lethal strain on the younger Rikka's brain.
"Rikka..." Saber whispered. With her sharp vision, she could clearly see how Rikka's body was slowly breaking down. She shook her head, pushing past the hesitation, and decided to do something she had never done before.
"Then I will show you my everything. My past, my present, and me as the King of Britain!" she yelled with full confidence, completely ignoring the screaming alarms of her Instinct that begged her not to fight.
She raised Excalibur Morgan up high, forcing herself to fully accept the malice of her past.
To wield the corrupted sword properly, she had to act as a ruthless machine of destruction, burying her emotions and drowning her mind in the regrets of her failed reign.
The weapon eagerly drank in the True Ether from the surrounding air, flaring with violent, crimson-black energy as it prepared to unleash complete devastation.
But right in the middle of gathering all that dark energy, Artoria looked over at Rikka.
Rikka did not even react to the massive gathering of power. Artoria stared at that perfectly emotionless face and remembered how incredibly stubborn the younger version of that girl had been.
Young Rikka had fought so hard to show Artoria the painful truth about Britain, desperately trying to save her from her own regrets.
Artoria remembered lashing out in anger, but despite all her hostility, that clueless, foolishly stubborn girl never once considered hating her.
"I won't let you carry that tragic burden anymore. So just for today... let me save you, Artoria."
The memory of those words echoed clearly in her mind.
A small, genuine smile crept onto Artoria's face. The crushing burden of her regrets and the endless anger she had forced upon herself suddenly felt incredibly foolish.
The girl standing across from her had already seen the darkest parts of her soul and still chose to reach out a hand.
"You truly are a stubborn girl," Artoria muttered softly under her breath, the last remnants of her cold facade washing away. "Show me you actually have the strength to defeat me. Fulfill your promise and save me."
In that moment, the cold facade of the tyrant broke apart. Artoria finally accepted the simple, honest desire to be saved as a human being. Her heart completely let go of the malice and reconnected to human hope and warmth.
The reaction was instant. Excalibur Morgan required pure hatred and despair to function, but Artoria was no longer providing it.
The True Ether swirling violently around her responded to the sudden shift in her heart. The dense, crimson-black aura enveloping the weapon began to shudder and warp.
Another sharp cracking sound echoed through the air. A bright fracture appeared right in the middle of the dark metal.
The crack quickly spread, spiderwebbing across the entire length of the corrupted blade as the holy sword violently rejected its own dark shell.
Artoria firmly planted her feet into the grass, her eyes sharp and completely devoid of hesitation.
"Even though you are foolish and painfully stubborn, I prefer the younger you," Artoria declared, her voice ringing out clearly over the storm of magical energy. "I much prefer the child whose eyes were actually full of warmth and emotion over the cold emotionless adult standing in front of me!"
The moment the words left her mouth, the black shell of Excalibur Morgan exploded.
The dark metal shattered into countless pieces that dissolved instantly into the wind, revealing the pristine form of Excalibur underneath.
Purified by the True Ether and her own desire to be saved, the holy sword shone brilliantly.
The violent, dark energy surrounding her instantly transformed into a massive, radiant pillar of golden light that illuminated the entire garden with overwhelming hope.
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"A light born not from the cries of the world, but the quiet wish of a human heart..." Artoria chanted, her voice firm and echoing clearly across the endless sea of flowers
She gripped the hilt of the purified holy sword, channeling all of her hope into the radiant blade.
"Lay down the crown, awaken from the long, cold nightmare. Shine forth, for the promise made to me..."
A short distance away, Rikka lowered her stance and rested her hand on the hilt of her katana.
She stared directly at the overwhelming golden light gathering around Artoria.
"Regret and salvation, darkness and light, past or future... All shall return equally to the Void," Rikka murmured to herself, perfectly matching the timing of Artoria's chant.
"EXCALIBUR!" Artoria shouted.
She swung the golden blade down with everything she had. The massive pillar of light erupted forward, transforming into a devastating torrent of golden energy that tore across the garden directly toward Rikka.
Rikka did not dodge. She sprinted straight into the path of the overwhelming attack.
The glowing colors in her eyes flared even brighter as she stared into the blinding light. She could see them clearly. Fragile, jagged lines of death were mapped all across the golden wave of magical energy itself.
"To the Emptiness—sever!" Rikka shouted.
She swung her katana forward, entirely ignoring the sheer heat and force of the attack.
Instead of trying to block the light or dodging, she traced her blade directly along the lines she saw.
The moment her katana sliced through a line, that exact section of the golden wave instantly shattered into nothingness.
Rikka kept running forward, carving her way straight through the massive attack.
She slashed cleanly from left to right, snapping the torrent of light apart section by section just like breaking a solid object into pieces.
The holy energy crumbled and dispersed harmlessly around her with every step she took, rapidly closing the distance between her and Artoria.
The golden energy crumbled and dispersed harmlessly into the breeze, completely disappearing until not a single spark of light remained.
Artoria stood frozen, her eyes wide in shock. Her ultimate attack—her Excalibur—had been completely erased without making a sound.
Before she could even process what had just happened, Rikka stepped through the clearing air, stopping directly in front of her.
Adult Rikka raised her katana. Overwhelmed by the cold efficiency of her Nothingness Origin, her adult mind prepared to execute the most logical outcome and kill Artoria outright to end the battle.
No! I promised to save her!
Deep inside that mature frame, Rikka's eight-year-old soul revolted with all her might.
Rikka's fierce, stubborn determination collided violently against the cold logic of the Void.
The internal struggle was too much for the physical vessel to bear.
Deep, fractured lines instantly spiderwebbed across her skin, glowing with brilliant light before her adult form shattered like glass into a cloud of fading petals.
When the dust cleared, the adult form was gone.
Standing in the middle of the garden was eight-year-old Rikka, breathing hard, her small hands holding her katana.
Looking up at Artoria, a proud, playful grin spread across her tired face.
"Hehe... I win again, Saber!" she cheered softly.
With the very last drop of her strength, Rikka stepped forward and lightly traced her blade through the red line of death on the dark corruption resting against Artoria's chest.
The black-and-violet corruption shattered into nothingness, erased from reality forever.
Her promise is complete, Rikka's eyes fluttered shut, her small body completely collapsing from total exhaustion.
Before Rikka could hit the ground, Artoria reacted. Reaching out, she caught Rikka gently in her arms, cradling the small form against her chest.
As Artoria held her close, the dark energy surrounding her dissolved into the spring breeze. Her gothic dress and visor melted away, replaced by the soft fabric of her royal blue dress and the bright, golden blonde hair of her original self.
Looking down at Rikka resting safely in her arms, Artoria let out a quiet, breathless sigh, a warm, genuine smile spreading across her face.
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A/N: After nine chapters, that is the end of Artoria's arc. At first, I only planned to write one chapter for Artoria and then move right along to Irisviel.
Instead, I somehow ended up writing nine chapters just for her. I do not even know how that happened. Literally most fanfics I read just brush past things and make Saber yours immediately without spending nine whole chapters on her character.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the Artoria chapters. There are definitely a few lore mistakes here and there, but I made sure everything still makes narrative sense. See you in the next chapter~