Eternal Avalon

The faint starlight illuminated the peaceful night of Fuyuki City.

Thump-splash!! Suddenly, the sound of something heavy falling into water shattered the tranquility.

Goldie, who had been sent flying a hundred meters away by a fierce punch from Xia, had the misfortune of landing in a small lake not far from where he had been standing. He watched as the surface of the lake, which had been exceptionally serene under the moonlight, was disturbed by the heavy object falling from the sky.

Ripples spread! Hero King, having fallen to the bottom of the lake, felt a dull throbbing pain on the bridge of his nose.

The violent ripples spreading across the lake's surface slowly subsided, and the once turbulent water returned to its previous state of calm. The pale moonlight once again cast its glow upon the lake, as if nothing had happened...

Although... that was impossible.

RUMBLE!!!

A deafening roar! The lake water erupted, and a golden figure shot out! The figure that burst from the water was clad in golden armor, and his once handsome face was now contorted in extreme rage. The red fist print on his face was even more conspicuous due to his distorted features.

"You... you have... good... courage!!! Mongrel!!" Hero King's inability to speak coherently, due to his rage, clearly indicated the extent of the ancient king's fury.

"Shut up! You half-human, half-god hybrid! If anyone's a mongrel, it's you!" Xia straightened his body and shouted back! These words, hitting their mark, caused Hero King's magical energy to explode!

Leap! Leap! Hero King instantly returned to the front of the four Heroic Spirits, his face contorted in a snarl. With a casual wave of his hand, he summoned his Noble Phantasm without a word: Gates of Babylon!

Enraged, Hero King unleashed his Noble Phantasm, summoning sixty-four magnificent treasures without even uttering the customary incantation, and fired them all at the young man in the red battle suit before him!

No need for questions! The King's wrath must be quenched with blood!

A sky-covering rain of Noble Phantasms descended upon Xia, assaulting him like a torrential downpour!

"A sword rain... made of Noble Phantasms?!" Conqueror King smacked his lips in astonishment, witnessing the nearly one hundred Noble Phantasms summoned with a mere wave of the golden figure's hand.

"Indeed, and each one seems to be of comparable quality. That young man in red appears to have offended someone quite formidable." Lancer said with a playful tone, but his face was filled with seriousness and caution.

Facing this powerful attack, Xia paid no mind to the rain of death above him. Instead, he turned his head towards Saber. Seeing Saber's slightly worried expression, Xia smiled happily. He then raised his right hand, and the Dragon Crest Golden Spear was hurled into the air!

The Dragon Crest Golden Spear, thrown into the sky, shot directly towards the rain of Noble Phantasms before him! His solitary figure, facing nearly a hundred Noble Phantasms with a single spear, seemed both lonely and overconfident, yet his spirit of defiance was truly admirable.

In mid-air, the Dragon Crest Golden Spear, rapidly approaching the rain of Noble Phantasms, collided with them head-on! A loud boom echoed in the air, followed by a dazzling golden light flashing across the dark night sky.

Mutual destruction...

"Damn it!!! Gates of Babylon!!" Seeing that his nearly one hundred Noble Phantasms had been blocked by a single treasure, Hero King, in a fit of rage, unleashed Gates of Babylon once more! The water ripples that reappeared behind Hero King revealed another sixty-four Noble Phantasms, which were then fired into the golden light!

This time! Let's see how you'll block it?! Hero King's snarling smile as he looked at Xia perfectly conveyed this sentiment.

Facing the renewed barrage of Noble Phantasms.

Swish! Xia abruptly lifted his platinum cloak, his hands grasping empty air before him! His burning demonic energy erupted instantly, rapidly condensing into two swirling vortexes of mana in his hands!

"Mana manifestation?!" Artoria and Conqueror King exclaimed in surprise, looking at the two crimson vortexes formed entirely of mana in Xia's hands.

"That which is not found in reality!" Facing the impending rain of death, Xia slowly closed his eyes and began to chant.

"In this moment of life and death, he wishes to chant a release incantation? Hahaha!! What a remarkable Servant!" Conqueror King admired him with respect. Beside him, Saber watched the figure about to be engulfed by the sky-high rain of Noble Phantasms, her entire body tensing involuntarily. The grip on her holy sword tightened.

"The weak cannot understand it, for its form, its bearing, its neck, and its gaze—all inspire a deep dread within our hearts. Though it does not exist, it is born from the reverence of men. Thus, the proud Royal Beast is born. Men offer it the highest reverence, and thus its throne is clarified. It lifts its head slightly. It exists without order. Men offer it the highest purity. They nourish it with the possibility of existence. This possibility grants it the power at its peak. Its forehead bears horns, and its ears are like deer antlers.

If you find this book to your liking, please remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.

And it approaches a divine name as the King of Heaven— It has always existed in the mirror, and within our hearts." As he spoke, Xia paused slightly, his gaze drifting back to Saber, who stood not far away.

At this moment, the magnificent rain of Noble Phantasms had already descended upon Xia's head. The axe-shaped Noble Phantasm at the forefront was even close to shaving off a strand of Xia's hair. Yet, Xia remained motionless in his spot, even halting the true name release that was almost complete.

"Damn it!!" Seeing that Xia had no time to complete the incantation and was about to be impaled by a hundred swords, Saber, without a second thought, let out a soft cry! Her small body instantly lunged towards Xia! With a powerful swing of the holy sword held tightly in both hands!

A violent gust of wind instantly swept out! Scattering the first few Noble Phantasms that were about to strike Xia!

As Saber prepared to leap again to sweep away the second wave of descending Noble Phantasms, she suddenly felt her waist tighten. Then, with a dizzying spin, she found herself... the person who should have been thanking her for saving his life was now looking at her with a smug, mischievous smile, pulling her back into his embrace. He completely ignored the second wave of Noble Phantasms bearing down on them.

"You... you idiot! Behind you!!" Seeing the approaching sharpness of the Noble Phantasm rain, Saber couldn't bother to reprimand the scoundrel for his rude actions and immediately shouted.

"I'm so happy... that you would help me, disregarding the fact that we are enemies." Xia seemed not to hear Saber's reminder, smiling as he expressed his current feelings.

Indeed... even though you've lost your memories, you are still the Artoria who was willing to become the Knight King of my ideals for me...

No longer for the people.

No longer for your loyalty.

But solely... for me! For me, Drake.D.Xia!

Thinking this, Xia's gaze towards Artoria grew more intense. The reluctant farewells of the past! The eternal cycles of reincarnation! Up until the most recent encounter as strangers! No matter what happens! Nothing can stop my loyalty and affection for you!

"Damn it! I'll take it back with my own two hands! And then I'll kill the guy who stole what I cherish most!"

Xia held Artoria tightly, shifting his stance to face the impending rain of Noble Phantasms head-on.

Then, he slowly lowered his head and looked at the lovely girl in his arms, smiling gently.

"Are you scared, Artoria...?" he asked softly, his eyes crinkling with a smile as he looked at Artoria. It was just like in the fairy forest back then, when he held Artoria, who had snuck out, tightly in his arms, facing a pack of fifty wolf beasts alone with a single spear.

He remembered that time... Artoria was trembling all over, her hands gripping his clothes tightly. She shrunk herself into his embrace as much as possible, as if only then could she dispel the fear of almost being killed by those wolf beasts. That was Artoria's first time leaving his protection and facing the dangers of the fairy forest alone.

"N-no, I'm not scared! Because... because Xia is here!" Artoria's trembling yet incredibly firm reply reached his ears.

With those words, and precisely to live up to them, he slaughtered all fifty wolf beasts with a sharpened wooden spear in his hand! In the end, he even set the entire area ablaze.

But now... when he asked again for the second time. How would this girl, who had already been baptized by the flames of war, answer him...?

Saber, upon hearing Xia's question, was slightly stunned. Then, she felt the stirring intention deep within her mind begin to stir once more.

Saber gently shook her head, clearing the distracting thoughts from her mind.

Then, she raised her head and stared seriously into his eyes, saying, "No matter what danger, I will fear nothing! No matter what kind of enemy, the blade in my hand will never let them succeed easily! This is my answer!" Artoria's words, filled with determination and confidence, were spoken. Hearing them, he couldn't help but show a slightly disappointed expression.

"As expected... you've grown," he said with a smile, sighing with emotion.

Then, he released his embrace of Saber, smiling and pinching her little nose again. Ignoring her pouting, flushed face, he laughed and said loudly:

"However... you want to break free from my protection and protect me instead! You're still a thousand years too early! Let me properly show you the true gap between us! King Arthur!" He once again vigorously swung the platinum cloak on his back, tearing it off and throwing it into the air!

"True Name Release! Eternal... Avalon!" His booming voice reached the entire starry sky!

Then... under Artoria's astonished expression upon hearing his Noble Phantasm's true name release.

A flash of golden light instantly illuminated the entire park, forcibly dragging all living beings and plants within the park into his world, including the Heroic Spirits and Masters who also wore expressions of bewilderment.

This is! Eternal Avalon!

My absolute domain!

---OVER---

I'm planning to drop Fate/stay night and focus entirely on writing "Hot Blooded"... What do you all think...?