In reality, of course, it was only three women.
Even though Lancelot had been forced into a female body, his inner self remained unchanged. He still didn't regret shouldering the blame for the King of Knights.
His only resentment was directed at Guinevere's twisted sense of humor, which had forced him to borrow the body of a certain Faerie Girl fifteen hundred years later.
It was this borrowed body that, upon his descent into madness, left him with a single, overwhelming thought: to beat Guinevere to a pulp.
His stats, however, became a fusion of his soul and the new body, resulting in the optimal combination of both:
Strength: A
Endurance: A+
Agility: A+
Mana: A+
Luck: B
His Noble Phantasms remained unchanged.
As for his Class Skill, his Madness Enhancement was now Rank B, one rank higher than it would have been without the body transformation.
But beyond that, his personal skills had also merged with those of the Faerie Girl:
Magic Resistance: E (Weakened by Madness Enhancement)
Protection of the Faerie A+ (Enhanced by the Faerie Body)
Eternal Arms Mastery A (Requires adaptation to the body; will return to A+ with combat experience)
Dragon's Heart B (A magic circuit known as the Dragon's Jewel. Classified as Mana Burst in Proper Human History, but allows for independent mana supply.)
Fae Dancer B (Enables finer and more fluid control of the body.)
Ray Horizon A (A necessary step for a Faerie to revert to its draconic form. However, since Lancelot lacks draconic legends and only possesses the Faerie Girl's legend, this skill is unusable.)
Thanks to this 'Synchronized Summoning,' Fairy Knight Lancelot should have been a Servant whose mana consumption Kariya Matou could never support. But...
Dragon's Heart B.
Fairy Knight Lancelot could supply a certain amount of mana independently, eliminating the risk of draining his Master dry and being defeated due to insufficient mana.
"Saber, are all of Camelot's knights this powerful and insane?"
Forced back by the sword pressure from Guinevere and Lancelot, the King of Knights positioned herself in front of Irisviel, shielding her from the deadly aftershocks of their clash.
In the brief time they had fought, the seawater couldn't penetrate their sword-warded perimeter, and the beach had been gouged half a meter deep.
The crisscrossing sword auras carved a network of ravines across the ground.
To Irisviel and the others, this battle was something that simply shouldn't be possible between humans.
Their speed, power, and the precision of their sword techniques—all far surpassed the limits of modern humans.
"Irisviel, Guinevere and Lancelot are Camelot's two strongest knights. In terms of pure swordsmanship, I cannot match them."
The King of Knights watched without blinking. She could see that Guinevere was being pushed back, and she knew that even if she weren't suppressed, she would still be no match for Guinevere.
But her gaze was primarily fixed on the white-haired girl embodying Lancelot.
In that moment, she desperately wanted to shout, "Guinevere, look! Lancelot is attacking you! It must be because he cannot accept the price the future demands!"
Yet, before the words could escape her lips, she realized they would only distract Guinevere. So she silently locked the thought away, steeling her resolve to die.
"Master, do you think they can settle this?"
Sword energy crisscrossed the battlefield, each chaotic slash executed with flawless precision. The sight compelled Kirei Kotomine to ask his master for his insight.
By now, Kirei had also deduced the true names of the three combatants. He anticipated that the Holy Church might react, but that was of no concern to him at the moment.
"Kirei, your duty isn't to spectate. Find the Masters of both sides immediately. The Holy Grail War is not just a battle between Servants."
Originally, Tokiomi Tohsaka had absolute confidence in the King of Heroes, believing there was no chance he could lose. But after glimpsing the sword techniques of the two clashing combatants...
He knew that if either of them managed to get close to the King of Heroes, defeat would be certain.
Moreover, he hadn't forgotten that Berserker could fly—and at the speed of a shooting star.
And...
"How could she be a Caster? If she's a Caster, what kind of Magecraft does Guinevere possess?"
Not far from the battlefield, Tokiomi Tohsaka muttered to himself. He had calculated the Classes of all known Servants and deduced Guinevere's most likely Class.
"Ridiculous. A Caster and a Berserker trading blows evenly."
On the battlefield, however, Guinevere was being pushed further into a disadvantage. Even Kenneth was starting to feel the strain from her immense Mana consumption.
Then, Kenneth noticed Diarmuid's sheepish expression and immediately understood: his Lancer lacked the confidence to intervene.
"Continue searching for the Matou family. Find Berserker's Master."
Sola was still at the tavern, carrying the limbless figure in the travel case with him. He wouldn't forget Guinevere's order to watch over the Master.
"Sir Lancelot, you're so adorable! White-haired young girls are my absolute favorite!"
Amidst the violent roar of Mana and a temporary lull after their full-force clash, Guinevere teased Lancelot as he let out a guttural "Arrrr!" She still held a grudge against him for his sudden attack.
Shouldn't he be thanking me for making him so cute?
"Grrrr!"
Lancelot grew even more frenzied, and Arondight became coated in an even deeper layer of blackness.
Now, as a true Faerie Girl, he might have had a slight chance of winning Guinevere's heart, but Lancelot no longer felt a shred of admiration for her.
If he could still speak, he would surely be screaming:
"Guinevere, you cruel woman! Give me back my manhood!"
But...
He couldn't speak. And after hearing Guinevere's words, he wasn't the only one enraged.
"Ex...calibur!!"
She had just formed the wish to reject her past. Her mood-reflecting ahoge remained flat. Her pure Mana was now tinged with a hint of frenzy...
The King of Knights' Holy Sword remained as brilliant as ever, and the torrent of light it unleashed nearly engulfed the frenzied Lancelot.
She glanced first at Guinevere, then at Lancelot, who had dodged just in time, escaping with only minor scratches on his armor.
Then, it hit her. She had swung her sword at Lancelot without thinking. She had genuinely been worried that Guinevere might actually be interested in this new Lancelot.
Distracted by her attack, the Faerie Girl turned to face her, calling out in a clear, bitter voice, "Ar...thur..."
Then, as if regaining a sliver of clarity, he vanished like a shooting star, retreating the way he had come.
After he flew away, the beach fell silent. The sea, blasted open by Excalibur, gradually calmed.
At that moment, Guinevere grinned foolishly at the King of Knights and advanced menacingly, forcing the King of Knights to take a soft step back.
"Lia, you talk so righteously, but you don't really care about everyone, do you? You even swung your sword at the wronged Sir Lancelot."
Sheathing her sword, Guinevere closed the distance to the King of Knights, stopping just a few steps away. As Irisviel raised her phone again, Guinevere swiftly pinned the unresisting King of Knights to the ground.
She straddled the King of Knights' waist, looking down at her from a dominant position. "You can't accept the infamy I'll bear in later generations," she said, "but you'd be fine with me actually getting involved with Lancelot if we returned to the past?"
"Guinevere, I would never let that happen."
"Then what if I got involved with Sister Morgan instead? Would you accept that? Just now, your possessiveness was on full display, you know."
"Guinevere, just give me some time!"
Trapped in such a compromising position and being photographed by Irisviel, the King of Knights gritted her teeth. She threw Guinevere off and fled.