Illya's Multiverse Odyssey

Artoria fell silent, then gently shook her head. On the path of kingship, she had gained new insight during the last Holy Grail War.

"That was merely my choice, my path. This world has birthed countless kings and countless paths. Mine is not necessarily right—otherwise, Camelot would not have fallen, and I would not have sought the Holy Grail to change the past... But I know this: the you of now, if you became Camelot's king, would only make it worse!"

Artoria's words once again pierced Mordred, igniting a blaze of fury in her heart.

"Hahaha! Still the same, still refusing to believe in me, to acknowledge me! But it doesn't matter! I'll defeat you, claim the Holy Grail, and return to the Day of Selection. I'll pull the Sword in the Stone right before your eyes, and make you see whether I'm worthy of being king—"

As she spoke, Mordred raised her longsword high. The blade blazed with crimson light, and red lightning shot up like a pillar, dyeing the entire night sky of Fuyuki City red.

Artoria's expression shifted instantly.

"Stop, Mordred, this is the city—"

Chapter 17: Hello There, My Little Shirou Brother

"So what? They're not my people of Camelot. Why should I care if they live or die?" Mordred laughed wildly.

"Draw your sword! If you don't unleash your Noble Phantasm, you'll die for sure! Then what's all this talk of winning the Holy Grail and saving Camelot? Make your choice, King Arthur!"

Artoria gritted her teeth, staring at the frenzied Mordred, caught in a dilemma. In the end, she raised her Holy Sword.

She was no saint. She was a king—the king of Camelot.

"No! Stop them—"

Rin Tohsaka's face went pale as she urgently turned to Su Ning.

Meanwhile, Shirou Emiya snapped awake, realizing the danger.

Though he didn't know how much destruction a clash of Noble Phantasms would cause, having seen their earlier fight and now their gathering power, he understood that letting them attack would bring catastrophic consequences.

"Don't—"

Shirou Emiya shouted in desperation, accidentally triggering the Command Spell. Artoria, mid-charge, felt her energy drop instead of rise, the golden radiance dimming rapidly.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

Artoria turned back, glaring at Shirou Emiya. In that moment, she saw Kiritsugu Emiya's shadow in him.

In the last Holy Grail War, Kiritsugu had used a Command Spell at the final moment to force her to destroy the Holy Grail, crushing her last hope. Now, Shirou Emiya's accidental trigger of the Command Spell was about to doom her as well.

Fortunately, Su Ning reacted in time.

"Stop, Little Mo! The King of Knights can't fight back now. Killing her like this proves nothing!"

A flicker of hesitation passed through Mordred's eyes.

She wanted to defeat Artoria fair and square, but more than that, she wanted to prove she was worthy of the throne. From their earlier exchange, she knew she couldn't convince this Artoria. So now, she only wanted to go back—back to the Day of Selection—and prove herself by pulling the Sword in the Stone before Artoria's eyes.

Su Ning frowned. If she could avoid it, she really didn't want to use a Command Spell on Mordred.

"Have you forgotten what you promised me? Or is the Son of King Arthur nothing but a faithless, despicable coward?"

"..." Behind her mask, Mordred's face twisted through a series of emotions before she finally sheathed her Noble Phantasm.