Conqueror King

"Draw your sword, nameless Servant! I'll wash away the shame of what just happened with your blood."

Saber spoke sharply, gripping the Holy Sword in both hands once more and pointing it at Xia. Whatever had just happened, there was only one thing Saber understood now: the man before her was an enemy, a Servant who was also competing for the Holy Grail!

Then there was only one thing she needed to do, only one thing she needed to think about.

Defeat him! Then claim the Holy Grail and fulfill the one and only wish of this broken body. With that thought, Saber tightened her grip on the Holy Sword. The pressure of the "king" within her grew heavier and heavier, and the air crackled under its weight.

Alice watched Saber issue her challenge and sighed helplessly, then slowly stepped back. The Lancer glanced at the two of them and retreated to one side, holding his spear in both hands. His pride as a hero would not allow him to interfere in this duel!

Meanwhile, Xia, who had been under the sway of his emotions ever since the start, finally came to his senses. He emerged from the state he'd fallen into after seeing Artoria, when his overwhelming excitement had kept his mind from thinking clearly. His reason returned to full speed, and the stiffness in his body began to fade, bit by bit.

The bewildered helplessness in his eyes gradually gave way to a sharp gleam. The deathly gray aura around him vanished, replaced by an air of imperious confidence.

{Someone tampered with Artoria's memories. The person before me isn't her true, "complete" self! So everything that just happened was fake! A lie! A trick!} Clinging to this consoling thought, Xia's pallid face began to regain its color.

{Artoria... is still the Goddess in my memories! The one my life and soul roar for!}

Whoosh! The wind swept past.

With a ringing hum, Xia, his spirit restored, casually flicked his hand. A flash of golden light, and the Golden Dragon Lance appeared in his grasp once more.

"Artoria, I don't know what's wrong with your memories, or why you've forgotten me. But I can't be bothered with that anymore. If you've forgotten me, then I'll make sure you remember me again! No arguing! No refusing! This is the one and only time in my life that I, Drac D. Xia, will make such a selfish demand of you. Take this stubborn devotion of mine and cherish it!" His smile opened wide, brimming with confidence and wild abandon as he looked at Saber.

Clang! The Holy Sword rose upright.

"For your foolish words, I'll make you experience firsthand just how terrifying a king's wrath can be!" Artoria replied, gripping the Holy Sword in both hands and lowering into a crouch, ready to spring into action at any moment.

"I am Drac D. Xia! The man who has crossed countless worlds to return to your side!"

His roar rang across the sky! In the next instant, the darkened sky was replaced by a sea of golden light! The Dragon Lance flashed as it swept through everything in sight like a gale—flowers, grass, trees, stones, people, Servants!

He swept them all away like leaves in a storm! This was spearwork honed between life and death! This was a spear raised to defend my soul!

My king! My soul! My very existence!

Since you've forgotten that this body exists, then this time, let me etch my presence into your soul forever!

That thrust! It crossed the limits of time and space!

That dance! It gave voice to the soul's cry!

Even against this utterly ferocious spear technique, Saber could steadily block it with the Holy Sword in her hand, and she was even able to counterattack at any moment. The golden Dragon Lance was indeed powerful, and even the Servant who was a Lancer felt deep admiration for spearwork that seemed like a miracle.

The mysterious Servant's spearwork was as swift as the wind, and his relentless momentum was truly astonishing.

But...

Whoosh! Golden light burst forth again. In a flash of inspiration, the lance shot through Saber's defenses like a shooting star, straight for her brow! But Saber paid it no mind. Instead, if her guess was right, this sudden attack...

Whoosh! The Golden Dragon Lance swept past Saber's brilliant golden hair by a hair's breadth!

"So that's it... The odd feeling I've had from the start—it turns out this is what caused it." The Lancer, watching the fight from a distance, rested one hand under his chin and muttered to himself, his other hand gripping his spear.

"?" Alice, standing some distance away from the Lancer, gave him a questioning look when she heard him muttering.

"That guy... From the start, he's never once aimed the spearhead at that powerful girl, has he?" {And... that girl hasn't once attacked the Servant's vitals, either. Even when she has the chance, she unconsciously avoids him with her blade. That... is something she probably hasn't even noticed herself. Some kind of... "instinct," perhaps...?} The Lancer swallowed those words and continued watching the battle. Hearing his answer, Alice opened her eyes in surprise and looked back at the fight.

It was true. From the instant the red-armored Servant began fighting, he had never once aimed his spear at Saber. What's more, every attack had come from the shaft or the butt of his weapon. What was that guy playing at?!

Alice wondered, troubled. But Saber in the middle of the fight was even more troubled! If they were judging by their actual abilities, she should have had the overwhelming advantage. But that guy across from her seemed to know where she would attack from, which angle she would counter from, and where she would suddenly unleash her power!

An ability even more unfair than her own instincts! It was infuriating!

And ever since the fight began, he hadn't once aimed the spearhead at her. The more she saw it, the angrier it made her!

Clang!!

Sword and spear clashed with a clear ringing sound. Saber exerted her full strength and sent Xia flying, leaving him stunned. She used the force of the clash to flip backward and retreat.

"What kind of joke is this? Are you insulting my sword?!! Use your weapon properly, Drac!" Saber roared angrily. For a knight in the middle of battle, there was no greater insult than an enemy who refused to take her seriously, as if they were merely playing a game.

Saber trembled with rage, her normally composed eyes beginning to waver once more.

{This man!! He's infuriating beyond belief!! I'll kill him!!!}

Saber's teeth ground together. She wanted to charge over and beat the man to a pulp right then and there!

"Hmph! If you can't even force me to point my spear at you, that's your own failing, isn't it, Artoria...?" Xia put on a disdainful expression to conceal the joy deep in his heart. {Even though she's forgotten me, the memories ingrained in her body are still there. Just as I'll never turn my blade against her... deep down, she'll never want to be my enemy either.} At that thought, the crooked smile on Xia's face widened.

{My Goddess... Even if this battered soul of mine is tortured to death, I'll restore your memories! No matter how difficult and hopeless the path may be!

I'll restore your memories! No matter what! No matter what! So that with these eyes of mine, I can see once again the happy face you turned toward me in the Fairy Forest!}

Fantasy was beautiful. Reality was a pile of shit.

Smack!

At Saber's remark clearly mocking his skill, a vein-shaped mark appeared on her forehead.

Smack! Smack!

More vein-shaped marks appeared on Saber's forehead...

"Hss!!" Saber raised her head and took a deep breath, then held it in her chest. She gripped the Holy Sword in both hands!

Whoooosh...

Whoooosh, whoooosh!!

Suddenly, the forest, which had been relatively calm, was swept by a fierce gale! A blue-green storm surged outward in every direction, with Saber at its center.

"Oh my! This is quite an unexpected turn of events! That young man is certainly skilled at pushing people's buttons!" The Lancer stared in astonishment at Saber, who looked just like a Heroic Spirit about to unleash her Noble Phantasm.

"Stop, Saber! If you use it here, your identity will be exposed...!" Alice shouted in alarm. If another Master learned the identity of her trump card on the very first day of the Holy Grail War—

"I refuse! That man has pushed me past the very limit of my patience! The way my heart raced earlier, the disrespect he showed me in battle, and now his insulting words! All of it has gone beyond what I can tolerate!! If you want to stop me, use your Command Seal!!" Saber replied roughly. The man before her was no longer someone she could bear! She had to wash away the shame of what had just happened with his blood!

Shiiing!!!

The invisible sword burst with golden light. Amid a dazzling radiance, its true form slowly appeared. Its plain, unadorned blade was inscribed with fairy runes.

"I'll warn you again! Raise your spear! Or else...!" Artoria reminded her opponent, still standing some distance away with his arms around his spear. It was proper knightly etiquette, though inwardly she already wanted to swing her sword at him...

But Xia acted as if he hadn't heard Saber at all. He simply released the spear he'd been holding in his arms.

He gripped the base of the spear in his right hand and drove it hard into the earth. Then he leaned forward slightly, as if ready to charge.

"Is that guy planning to get himself killed...?" the Lancer wondered, watching Xia from a spot a hundred meters away after leaping back once more.

"If you dare look down on my sword...!" Saber raised the Holy Sword, its blade shining with brilliant golden light. "You'll pay a price you can't afford, arrogant Servant!"

Before Saber could finish speaking, Xia suddenly charged forward. The explosive force of his launch sent a huge slab of earth flying from behind him!

"Too late! Excalibur...!!!!" Saber cried, gripping the Holy Sword in both hands and preparing to strike. Then she suddenly realized that the arrogant Servant named Drac D. Xia was already standing right in front of her.

"He's so fast!" The Lancer was stunned by Xia's explosive burst of speed.

But Xia didn't care what the Lancer was saying. At that moment, he was quietly admiring the look of shock and disbelief on Artoria's face before him.

Her wide eyes shimmered with disbelief. Her hands, frozen mid-swing by her momentary daze, remained raised above her head. Her little nose trembled slightly, and her lips parted as she breathed warm air.

{I remember... The first time I made Artoria look like this must have been when we met at that noble estate, right? Heh... She wasn't much better than she is now.} Thinking this, Xia mischievously reached out and pinched Artoria's nose.

It was something Xia used to do back in the Fairy Forest whenever Artoria did something that annoyed him.

And every time Xia did that...

"Stop pinching me! You idiot, Xia!" Without even thinking, Saber instinctively raised a hand to shield her face and waved the other, speaking in a petulant, almost coquettish voice. She didn't even notice the Holy Sword falling from her hand again.

Hearing those familiar yet unfamiliar words, Xia was the one left staring at Saber in shock. He'd only done it on a whim... He never thought...

But the instant Saber's instinctive reaction passed, reason returned to her. Thinking about how she had just acted, she almost wished she could slit her own throat and put an end to the humiliation!

"You...!!!" In the end, Saber rationally recognized that the man before her was responsible for all this trouble. If she just took him out, then all these nightmares and humiliations would be over!!

"Mm... You were so cute just now, and it brought back memories... Could you do it one more time?" Xia smiled and said it again, ignoring Saber as she teetered on the edge of losing her temper.

"Mm... she really is cute."

"Oh my~ I never knew little Saber-chan had a side like that~~ So cute~!"

The Lancer and Alice chimed in with their opinions, adding fuel to Saber's already blazing rage.

Just as Saber was about to lose control—

Boom! A sudden peal of thunder rang across the previously silent sky.

Startled by the explosion, everyone instinctively looked up. Xia, however, stepped in front of Saber, protecting her behind him.

"Enough!!!" A booming voice rang across the sky. A blue bull, its whole body crackling with lightning, galloped through the air, pulling a chariot as it came before them.

"Good evening, brave heroes! I am the Conqueror King!"