"It was truly fortunate that you were the first one I fought, Lancer…"
This was not mockery, but gratitude.
As a naturally gifted opponent, Durandal's talent was very strong. Although she would continuously grow stronger with time and training, this speed was very limited without external pressure.
Dr. Schrödinger once evaluated her, saying that whatever doesn't kill her makes her stronger.
She agreed with this statement and believed it was an acknowledgment of her efforts.
But what about her enemies?
Aside from Rita, there were hardly any exceptionally skilled opponents.
However, even though Rita was an S-rank Valkyrie like her, Durandal could defeat Rita simply by exerting some speed and strength.
This also led to Rita's unwillingness to spar with her afterward.
Being invincible is lonely. Although Durandal wasn't truly invincible, her opponents were either easily crushed or were massive, unskillful opponents.
This led to her becoming a pure brute-force fighter.
However, this point was put to the test in this Holy Grail War.
Initially, her slashes were expertly deflected by Diarmuid's excellent force-nullifying techniques. His attacks were swift, fierce, and precise, almost every strike aimed directly at a vital point.
The opponent had no world-destroying moves, and was even weaker than herself in terms of strength, but every attack made the alarm bells in her heart ring continuously.
And with each dodge, she understood his martial arts better.
She used to think that as long as she was strong enough and fast enough, that would be enough, and there would be no unbeatable enemy.
But now she finally realized the importance of martial arts, and finally stepped into that realm.
Just by fighting, she learned a lot. She even felt that Diarmuid's martial arts were better than Lancelot's. This was not an exaggeration, but because Diarmuid had the rationality to judge strategies based on the situation on the field, and the insight to find flaws in battle, even sublimating it into the unique skill of Mind's Eye (True).
All of this allowed Diarmuid to suppress Lancelot in his normal state, even when his abilities were inferior to Lancelot's.
In comparison, Lancelot was purely showing off, fighting himself, and would not change his strategy according to the situation on the field. But this was also normal, after all, he had no rationality.
"I have learned enough from fighting you."
Crossing the spear transformed from Pandora in her hand with Durandal in her right hand, Durandal did not intend to miss this opportunity while he was injured.
"To grow during our battle, what terrifying talent. As expected of someone who can become a hero even in a future where mystery fades."
"However, your sword is still filled with confusion. I can feel that you seem to be swinging your sword just to swing it."
He switched the long spear from his injured right hand to his left hand. Even though the pain made him sweat profusely, his tone did not tremble at all. It seemed he still hoped to disturb Durandal with words in the end.
The opponent was unharmed, and the opponent would obviously not wait for her Master's healing to take effect. Diarmuid, even severely injured, was still prepared to deal with the opponent's sudden attack.
A cornered beast still fights. Even though the opponent was severely injured, Durandal did not relax her vigilance.
"Holy Sword..."
Since she was trying to decide the outcome, Durandal no longer held back and directly unleashed the Holy Sword in her hand.
Although it was only an anti-personnel Noble Phantasm and did not have the destructive power of the Sword of Promised Victory, it also meant that Durandal did not require a long preparation time when unleashed, and could be used as a normal slash.
Moreover, Durandal did not need to worry about the opponent guessing her identity because of her Noble Phantasm, which gave her a unique advantage.
But just as she was halfway through unleashing it, and a dazzling light emanated from Durandal, a lightning bolt suddenly descended from the sky, landing right in the middle of the two.
"Have they arrived?"
Takatsuki looked up at the sky. A red-haired giant roared as he drove a chariot down from the sky, landing right in the middle of the two.
After landing, he suddenly raised his hands: "Both sides, put away your swords!"
"No disrespect in front of the King's chariot!"
After speaking, he looked at the reactions of the others around him. Seeing that everyone was silent because of his sudden appearance, he closed his eyes with satisfaction: "My name is Conqueror Iskandar! I have manifested in this Holy Grail War as the Rider-class Servant!"
Iskandar showed a triumphant smile, and the other Masters and Servants around him were all dumbfounded.
And his Master naturally grabbed his cloak in a frenzy, but was flicked away by Iskandar's finger.
"Although fate has made me contend with you for the Holy Grail, I still want to ask a question, are you..."
Iskandar suddenly raised his hands, saying exaggeratedly: "Willing to join my ranks and yield the Holy Grail to me? If so, I will treat you as friends and share the joy of conquering the world with you."
Because of Iskandar's interruption, Kenneth had quickly healed Lancer's injuries. As a Lord of the Clock Tower, he had a great advantage in terms of magecraft. It could be said that there was no one in the entire Fuyuki City who was more skilled in magecraft than him now.
Lancer shook his head: "I cannot accept this proposal. I will only dedicate the Holy Grail to the new Master with whom I have made a contract in this life... It will never be you, Rider!"
Durandal also transformed Pandora back to its original form. She was not surprised by Rider's appearance, but only believed more that Takatsuki truly knew the future.
"My Master and I have no desire for this Holy Grail, but this Holy Grail cannot be given to you, because our goal is to achieve victory and then destroy it."
Durandal spoke the words Takatsuki had already prepared. This was also a gamble. Destroying the Holy Grail, these words could even be said to offend all the participants. It was not impossible for them to be besieged by everyone if things went wrong.
"Hmm? Why? Don't you hope to make a wish by participating in the Holy Grail War?"
Everyone who participates in the Holy Grail War should be someone who has a desire for this Holy Grail War. Some are for loyalty, some are for making wishes, but participating to destroy the Holy Grail...
It's really strange.
"No, I have wishes, and many of them, but they are not something this Holy Grail can grant. If you ask why..."
Durandal looked at the others around her who were all focused on her, and then uttered the last sentence: "Because the Holy Grail of this Holy Grail War has already been contaminated by the Heroic Spirit summoned by the big three in the past. The current Holy Grail cannot grant any wishes at all. No... there are still wishes that can be granted, which is to eliminate humanity. All wishes will be twisted into this one wish."
"That's impossible!"
Durandal's words were like a thunderclap, shocking everyone present. Waver's exclamation represented the thoughts of many people, but not everyone believed her one-sided statement.
Finally, Conqueror spoke after a moment of contemplation: "If that is the case, then the Holy Grail is indeed not the omnipotent cauldron that we seek! But! What evidence do you have to prove that what you say is true?"
At the end of his words, Conqueror's eyes widened as he looked at Durandal, his imposing aura not restrained in the slightest. If it were just an ordinary liar, under this aura, there would be nowhere to hide.