Saying Goodbye to the You of the Past

The azure gale and the golden sword light collided suddenly in the night sky. The two completely different and terrifying forces merged together in the center of the two, unleashing an extremely terrifying impact that even blew the stone slabs around their feet away.

"It's useless!"

With her innate Instinct and extensive combat experience, Artoria once again withstood the attack launched by Rovey.

"Whether it's swordsmanship or strength, you're far inferior to me. Even if you use some tricks, you can't beat me at all. You should have already recognized this reality."

"Indeed, whether it's the sword skills I crammed into in the dream or the physical strength barely enhanced by the Rune, I'm at a complete disadvantage. If this continues, I see absolutely no hope of winning. But..."

Before he could finish speaking, Rovey suddenly released his grip on the staff and planted it firmly in place. He then switched from holding the sword with one hand to holding it with both hands, and launched another swift slash at the blue iron hammer that Artoria was spinning in her hand, accompanied by a sudden, alluring floral fragrance wafting from behind him.

——Bang bang bang bang!!

This time, the speed was even greater, and the clanging sound of clashing blades rang in our ears once more. A terrifying force erupted wildly in all directions, stirring up clouds of dust.

Despite it being the same clash and attack as before, Artoria attempted to repeat her previous tactic, parrying Rovey's sword and snatching it from her grasp. However, this time the result was utterly unexpected. The instant the azure gale clashed with the golden sword light, Saber, who clearly had the numerical advantage, was forced back several steps by Rovey's attack.

This bizarre scene caused a look of shock to appear in Artoria's originally calm eyes, clearly indicating that she could not understand the change that had occurred in Rovey at this moment.

"Hey, King of Knights, didn't Merlin tell you never to underestimate any opponent on the battlefield? Even a fragile mortal like me, under certain conditions, can gain power comparable to heroes like you..."

"Hey, it's my turn to make my appearance, isn't it?"

Upon seeing Rovey release the staff he had given to the other party, a white-haired man in the Starry Sky revealed an excited expression.

"Little Artoria, don't blame me later. After all, I'm doing this for your own good. You've been caught up in this for far too long..."

Although it murmured apologies, there was no trace of remorse on the face of this inhuman being; all that could be seen was a hint of... pleasure.

[Dreamlike Charisma A.]

[Hero Creation EX.]

High atop the tower, Merlin waved his staff, then, through the connection he had established with Rovey in the dream, unleashed all his most powerful Reinforcement Magecraft and techniques upon Rovey's body, cheering him on. "You've been enhanced! Go and deliver him!!"

That familiar taste, and that magic...

There was absolutely no mistake, it had to be him; my Instinct at the time was right.

"It's Merlin!"

In the brief instant when the fragrance of flowers and magic appeared together, Artoria immediately recognized whose work it was and exclaimed in surprise.

However, Rovey Wei had no intention of explaining Merlin to her. He slightly turned the holy sword in his hand, and then his aura began to rise steadily.

"Finally, Merlin..."

It wasn't just Scáthach's Primordial Runes, but also Merlin's overpowered abilities, that gave him the stats to be able to compete with top-tier Heroic Spirit like Artoria.

"I never expected even Merlin to get involved, and who else is involved? Just how far are you trying to fool me?!"

Artoria felt a pang of sorrow upon seeing her former comrades standing opposite her once again.

"Why? Why are you all trying to stop me, even after death you'll oppose me? I only need to..."

"What do you want?" Rovey interrupted her.

"Obtaining the Holy Grail will change the past tragedy."

He chuckled softly, his gaze towards her filled with a hint of pity. "How tragic, this Holy Grail War... only you are immersed in this beautiful lie."

"What exactly are you trying to say?!"

"I've already said what I wanted to say. Now it's time for you to seriously consider my words. King of Knights, I'll ask you again: is everything you're pursuing truly right? Are you still stuck in the past, unable to move towards the future?"

As they spoke, the two made another move. Accompanied by a piercing "clang—!!" sound, the Golden Sword and the Sword of Promised Victory clashed again in mid-air, and the two remained locked in a stalemate.

"Although I am not a knight, and even my swordsmanship was forcibly implanted into my brain by that Nightmare to prevent me from being killed by you in a few moves, I can sense that you still have hesitation. Is it because you have been betrayed three times, or for some other reason..."

"Shut up!"

—Clang!

Suddenly, two sword lights flashed with a cold light as they met. In an instant, sparks flew everywhere, and the two figures had already darted far away.

Under the cover of night, a cold light suddenly flashed, and the clash of swords was also a clash of wills. Although Artoria was clearly superior in swordsmanship, Rovey, who had been enhanced by Merlin, was able to barely keep up with Artoria's pace.

This performance prompted Scáthach, who was sitting on the steps, to applaud them.

It's starting to look decent. This level of combat is no longer the playful fighting of before; it's finally showing some signs of a real warrior.

As she thought this, her gaze remained fixed on the two figures fighting in the courtyard.

He couldn't help but seriously reflect on the joke he had made earlier.

If Rovey really died, could she really bring his soul back to the Land of Shadows and nurture it slowly until it reached the state she wanted?

Although it was just a joke at the time, thinking about it now, it doesn't seem so bad...

Having a disciple like him—who is interesting, talented, unafraid of me, and even knows how to make me happy—by my side would be a good choice.

If he were here, my future years might not be so boring.

Scáthach thought to herself as she watched the two dueling on the battlefield.

Chapter 72 Saying Goodbye to Your Past Self (6,000 words)

The night Serenity, and the moonlight was cool and clear.

Under the watchful gaze of the Queen of the Land of Shadows, the two swordsmen standing in the center of the moonlight immediately made their move.

Bite!!

Suddenly, a cold glint flashed by, and then two figures emerged from the darkness like ghosts, their swords clashing and sparks flying.

—Clang!

The clash of weapons, the metallic clang of swords striking each other, echoed in the air. Sharp sword moves, carrying unparalleled momentum, pierced the night sky, and two figures constantly crisscrossed in the darkness.

The two began to fight their way down, their sharp swords clashing repeatedly, creating a series of metallic booms in mid-air.

Golden and blue light streamed across the night sky, their occasional collisions creating sparks and magical vibrations that were dazzling and captivating.

From these sword moves, which were both clumsy and incredibly familiar, in the clash of swords, Artoria vaguely sensed the will that Merlin had deliberately left in the Golden Sword. In a daze, Artoria seemed to see a pure white shadow on Rovey, like a blooming lily.

Raw, pure, and flawless... everything is as it was in the beginning.

Upon seeing the blurry figure that suddenly appeared, Artoria was certain that she was not mistaken.

That is...

Lily, the original Artoria, the lily knight!

But why am I seeing this?

Upon seeing that familiar figure, Artoria's thoughts involuntarily drifted back to the past, and memories from bygone days surfaced in her mind.

"Hey! Don't get distracted during the battle, Saber!"

A reminder shattered her illusion.

Clang!

Rovey raised his straight sword and thrust it straight at Artoria again. With the help of Merlin's special Magecraft that existed in the sword, he swung the blade and swiftly threw three golden sword lights at Artoria at an extremely tricky angle.

——Swish, swish, swish!!

Three sharp, piercing sounds suddenly rang in her ears, and a fierce, fluid sword light hurtled towards her at lightning speed, causing Artoria to be slightly taken aback.

Because the sword energy came too fast, in the blink of an eye, Artoria could only grip the Holy Sword tightly, defending and retreating at the same time. However, Rovey's actions did not stop there. His sword grip suddenly changed, and then his magic power condensed again. Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, he aimed the sword directly at Artoria and then unleashed a long-planned beam of light from the Holy Sword.

"What is this...?!"

Seeing this familiar Liberation stance, Artoria raised an eyebrow, clearly understanding Rovey's intentions.

She tried to avoid him, but Rovey just snorted, "Too late."

"—Caliburn, (The Golden Sword Victory)!!"

Immediately, the crimson Command Seal engraved on her arm vanished, instantly replenishing the magic power of the Golden Sword. Then, a golden light arrived in an instant, causing Artoria's pupils to slightly contract as she was about to dodge.

Clearly, she didn't understand why Rovey's power was charged up so quickly, and why he was able to unleash the true power of the Golden Sword.

In the critical moment, she dodged to the side and swung her holy sword to ride the blue gale in an attempt to counterattack. However, by the light of the moon, she vaguely saw that the light at the top of the magic wand stuck not far away suddenly flashed, and then a bad premonition suddenly arose in her heart.

'This is bad!!'

The arrival of this arrangement was almost completely silent.

As she retreated, the instant her foot touched the ground, a strange, crimson Alchemy Array suddenly rose from the earth. Then, a flaming blade slashed down from behind her, aiming straight for Artoria's head. Saber, relying on her Instinct, instinctively avoided the tragic fate of having her head severed by Michael's sword, leaving only a scorching scar on her back.

"Angels? No, this is... Magecraft!"

Saber quickly realized, "Did you already consider this when you released your wand?"

Artoria looked at Rovey in surprise, to which he simply smiled and replied nonchalantly, "You guessed right, Saber. After all, it's perfectly reasonable for an ordinary Magus like me to use Magecraft in battle, isn't it?"

After all, a certain Britannia swordsman once said, "How can you become a grandmaster if you don't use a beam cannon?" Such a very reasonable saying.

Despite having A-rank physical stats thanks to the powerful support of Scáthach Merlin (two green and red support characters), allowing him to briefly hold his own against the Artoria, his imitated swordsmanship was ultimately not his own. Rovey speed, angle, and timing were completely outmatched. To win, he needed to utilize his own strengths.

And one's own strengths need no further explanation, right?

"Now, let's try this."

I am the kingdom, wielding power and glory.

Raphael came before me, and Gabriel came after me.

Michael in my right hand, Uriel in my left.

A five-pointed star burns before me, a six-pointed star shines behind me.

From the void, we summon the holy angels from the other shores of land, sea, and air to this place.

Seeing that Artoria had fallen into the trap, Rovey immediately revealed his true abilities.

As he finished chanting the incantation, not only did the phantom of the Flame Angel appear to the right of Artoria, but three other phantoms of completely different colors—cyan, blue, and brown—suddenly appeared in different locations around her and launched their attacks.

Flames, hurricanes, water, earth.

Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel.

In that instant, the phase angels, composed of fire, wind, water, and earth—symbols of the four basic elements that make up the world—launched a terrifying attack with fierce momentum, aiming to subdue Artoria, who was trapped at the very center of the formation.

This imposing presence even made Scáthach, who was watching from the sidelines, raise an eyebrow, finding it amusing.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, it would be hard to imagine that such an attack could have come from the hand of a modern Magus.

In her opinion, the combined attack of the four archangels was comparable to an A-rank Noble Phantasm.

So... is it over?

No, things are certainly not as simple as they seem.

In the blink of an eye, Artoria steadied herself, calmed her breathing, and then the magic power compressed within her petite body suddenly erupted. She then wielded her holy sword and launched another tidal wave of attacks. Her figure was like that of a true dragon. Even when facing four angels attacking at the same time, her eyes showed no fear as she continued to forge ahead!

— Clang clang clang clang clang!

Swords flashed and clashed wildly in the courtyard beneath their feet.

"—EX... calibur, (Excalibur)!!"

"... Is it Noble Phantasm? Then bring it on!!"

In response to Rovey, the seal on the Star Sword in his hand was released, and the brilliant starlight fell from the sky like a galaxy, rising up with a dazzling golden radiance.

The once dark courtyard was now completely illuminated by the light of the holy sword. In response to this move, the magic power unleashed by the four angels was ignited, and four distinct elemental forces began to rage beneath her feet.

The terrifying power emanating from it sometimes burned the surrounding trees to ashes, sometimes left horrifying scratches on the stone pavement, and sometimes mercilessly smashed the sturdy walls.

In an instant, the entire area was engulfed and covered by the burst of magic power.

Soon after, a golden beam of light suddenly shot up from the castle, its dazzling light piercing the dark night sky like a galaxy, shining brightly under the night sky of Fuyuki City.

The once ancient and magnificent Einzbern Castle beneath their feet had been completely reduced to ruins by their reckless actions. Even the surrounding forest had been blasted into a bottomless ravine by a beam of light.

At this moment, the surrounding area was in complete disarray.

"You're really exaggerating ridiculously..."

Amidst the ruins, a much more disheveled Rovey leaned on his sword and barely managed to stand. Looking at Artoria, who was equally covered in dust but still full of energy, he couldn't help but retort, "... Magic Resistance Rank A, you're practically the bane of us Magus. Are you some kind of humanoid Tyrannosaurus Rex?"