Meanwhile, in another location, Kiritsugu scouted multiple abandoned buildings in search of Kayneth, who had fled from their encounter the previous night.
"Maiya, any progress on your end?" Kiritsugu asked, speaking through his flip phone.
"Unfortunately, no. I still haven't managed to find his whereabouts. Both he and Lancer seem to have disappeared completely," she replied.
"We need to search deeper. Lancer's Master was heavily injured, and his Magic Circuits will never function again. We must deal with him before he transfers his Command Spells to someone else."
"Understood. I will push further in," Maiya said.
But before Kiritsugu could end the call, his heart suddenly began to pound violently.
"What the...?"
He gasped as a sudden, agonizing heat tore through his entire body.
On the back of his right hand, the red crests of his Command Spells flared with a blinding, violent light that burned mercilessly into his flesh.
Kiritsugu stared at the glowing marks, his mind reeling as a cold, bottomless void suddenly opened within his magical pathways, violently ripping his Od away.
The sheer speed of the magical drain was excruciating, leaving his chest tight and his nerves screaming. Before he could even lift the phone back to his mouth, a heavy, metallic taste of copper choked him.
He coughed violently, spitting a spray of dark blood onto the dusty concrete.
His vision went dark at the edges.
With his reserves depleted so instantly, his legs gave out. He collapsed forward, hitting the hard floor with a heavy, dull thud.
The flip phone slipped from his weakened fingers, clattering against the ground.
"Kiritsugu?!" Maiya's voice shattered the silence, calling out frantically through the small speaker. Hearing his choked gasp, the wet cough, and the heavy crash of his body hitting the floor, her usual calm was completely gone. "Kiritsugu! Answer me! What happened?!"
***
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***
Fwhhhhhhh-
"Aahhhhhh!" The sudden wall of wind slams into my chest, sliding my feet backward across the ground.
Saber just keeps pouring it out, releasing a crushing tide of Prana so dense that the air itself begins to warp-spinning into a visible, dark violet hurricane twisting violently right before my eyes.
"Rikka, you need to summon your teacher. She's definitely going to help you," Void says. Even though she speaks in her usual calm tone, I can somehow hear her perfectly over the roaring wind.
"LIKE HELL I CAN DO THAT! I'M CURRENTLY BUSY BEING THROWN BACK!" I yell, still getting pushed back by the relentless waves of Prana Saber keeps unleashing.
"Fuck! My body is strong and fast!" I activate my Reinforcement magecraft. My Magic Circuits flare to life, a green glow lighting up briefly beneath my skin before disappearing.
Thanks to the reinforcement, I finally manage to hold my ground without being pushed back, and i immediately raise my right arm in front of me.
If I remember correctly, I just need to chant the summoning spell. I don't know if it works without a summoning circle or not, but whatever-it's better to try than to do nothing at all.
But the problem is, I don't remember what the chant is! Literally, in the anime, they only chant in that one episode. How am I supposed to remember it?
But then, a split second later, the knowledge just clicks. "Huh!? I see, so that's how!"
"Awaken, O Origin of the spiral. From the boundary where all things begin and nothingness remains, open the locked gates of the timeless tower-" As I chant the random words that surface inside my head, my Command Spells start to glow.
"You think... I am just going to accept that?" Suddenly, I hear Saber's voice in a rough, jagged yell, completely lacking her usual composure.
Her voice drops into a low, dangerous growl, shaking the ground beneath her feet and vibrating through the air.
The dark Prana around her flares so violently that the nearby windows shatter into dust.
"Thousands of years... watching them die over and over, and my kingdom being destroyed. You forced me through that nightmare and expect me to believe it was all real?!" She raises her sword with her right hand.
Tears of pure frustration and rage spill from her eyes, but they evaporate instantly against the sheer heat of her dark aura.
She takes a heavy step forward, leveling the blackened sword directly at my face.
The air around the blade turns into a vacuum, screaming with dense, dark Prana.
"Gulp. Well, I'm dead..." I don't even have time to continue my chant when Saber suddenly jumps forward as her blackened Excalibur swinging straight toward me.
My body can't even react to how fast she is, even with Reinforcement.
Shhhw-zing!
But then, right in the path of her blade just inches from my face, space warps as a brilliant golden glow appears.
Two golden ripples tear open in the air, humming with a heavy, vibrating sound.
Before the light can even fully spread two heavy, ornate spears shoot upward from the portals at opposite angles.
Their shafts slam together and interconnect, catching her blade right where they cross, directly between my skin and her Excalibur.
CRASH-CLANGG
Her sword slams hard into the crossed spears.
The impact detonates with a flash of dark red and gold sparks. The shockwave rips past my ears, blowing a ring of dust outward.
Through the gaps in the spears, I look straight into her bloodshot golden eyes.
Her arms are shaking from the recoil, her blade grinding hard against the spears, completely stuck just inches from my throat.
"That golden portal...? Gilgamesh!?" The only Servant in existence with a glowing golden portal that fires out weapons is definitely the King of Heroes.
I frantically look around, trying to find where she is hiding.
"Keep your eyes on her, Guardian," an arrogant, echoing voice commands from out of nowhere. "If I have to waste my treasures blocking her crude swings again, I might just let her cut you in half next time."
Yep, that's definitely Gilgamesh. She is still being an absolute ass, even now. Also, where the hell is she, and how did she even manage to slip inside this Bounded Field that Void set up?
"You still dare to freeze up and get stuck in your own head right now? Don't just stand there staring—do what you're supposed to do!" Gilgamesh snaps.
In front of me, Saber notices a sudden shift in the air just a split second before she jumps backward.
Instantly, multiple noble phantasms rain down from the sky, violently stabbing deep into the concrete right where she was standing a moment ago.
Taking the opening Gilgamesh created, I resume my chant. "From the paradise at the end of time, hear my voice!"
A massive surge of Mana begins to burst into the atmosphere around me.
Since I am doing this without a proper catalyst, I have to forcefully push my own Od through my Magic Circuits, using my internal energy to anchor the summoning directly to myself.
Without the direct backing of the Holy Grail's system, the Prana requirement is ridiculous.
I can feel my entire body being rapidly drained, my nerves burning as if my blood is boiling. Still, the drain isn't nearly as bad as when I tried using that incomplete Phantasm.
"Step into this reality and stand by my side. Manifest now, Lady Avalon!" My Command Spells glow with a blinding, searing heat, resonating with a brilliant light that etches itself into the cracked ground right in front of me.
As the intense, pure light erupts and envelopes everything in the immediate area, I quickly squeeze my eyes shut to avoid being blinded by the sheer magical output.
Then, the heavy, violent atmosphere immediately softens, replaced by the sudden, gentle scent of blooming flowers.
"Hey, hey! I thought you had already forgotten all about me, but it turns out my disciple really did need me after all~" a familiar, teasing voice chimes through the fading wind.
"Caster Avalon Gwendydd, is here to answer her disciple's request!" As the light finally disappears into a flurry of soft glowing petals, I open my eyes.
There she is, her full body materializing right in front of me, leaning casually on her ornate staff with that usual, carefree smile.
***
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***
Lady Avalon observed the corrupted Servant before her, her eyes narrowing slightly in quiet curiosity.
"So you are the Saber of this timeline? And that appearance... it seems her Saint Graph has undergone a complete inversion. I certainly didn't expect a simple illusion to break her like this."
In truth, Lady Avalon knew Rikka's illusion magecraft alone wasn't nearly realistic or potent enough to force a full Saint Graph inversion upon the King of Knights.
The horrific visions tormenting Artoria had to have come directly from Void herself.
Saber tightened her grip on her blackened hilt, her glowing gold eyes glaring through the heavy, dark Prana at the newly materialized Caster.
The sudden scent of blooming flowers, the radiant aura, and the signature of high-tier illusion magecraft were all familiar, yet entirely wrong.
"Who... are you? Merlin...?! But you are a woman!"
"Unfortunately, I am not the Merlin you know," Lady Avalon replied in a cheerful, teasing tone. She gave her ornate staff an elegant spin in her grip before slamming its base firmly against the cracked ground. "I am merely a teacher who answered a summoning because someone decided to bully my cute little disciple~"
"Bloom, O hidden paradise!"
At her chant, the concrete directly beneath Saber violently vibrated and cracked open. In an instant, massive, glowing wooden stalks and thick roots erupted from the ground, twisting like giant tendrils as they surged upward to bind the dark knight.
Even with her corrupted Saint Graph, Saber's combat instincts remained formidable.
Moving with ruthless efficiency, she swung her blackened Excalibur in rapid, blinding arcs, tearing through the surging wooden tendrils in a storm of dark energy until the growth finally ceased.
Lady Avalon watched the violent display with a light hum. She had only cast the basic spell as a gauge of her opponent's current status.
"A bit sluggish compared to Arthur... but oh well. It seems the inversion of her Saint Graph really downgraded her agility," Lady Avalon murmured softly, casually assessing Saber's altered combat parameters.
"With these lowered parameters, she should be able to do it," Lady Avalon murmured to herself, analyzing Saber's corrupted state.
She then turned around to where Rikka was standing and looked at her with a bright, cheerful smile. "Rikka, this is perfect! You can use what you have been learning up until now to fight her~"
"...What?" The moment Rikka heard that, she stared at Lady Avalon as if she were looking at an absolute madwoman.
"Don't worry, I am right here. If you use everything you have been learning, this is going to be a piece of cake!"
Before Rikka could even process that absurd statement, Lady Avalon casually pointed the tip of her staff toward the corrupted knight.
"O pristine walls of the timeless tower, bloom and bind the shadow!" she chanted. Instantly, two massive, intricate magic circles materialized—one glowing beneath Saber's boots and another manifesting in the air directly above her.
Pillars of radiant pink light shot between the two circles, creating a cage of immense magical pressure. The sheer weight of the spell slammed down heavily on Saber, completely immobilizing the dark knight and pinning her in place no matter how violently she struggled and growled against it.
"Are you insane?!" Rikka yelled in disbelief. "Did live-streaming for days as an idol finally break your brain, Lady Ava?! There is no way I can fight a Servant!"
"Tsk, tsk. You really need to stop underestimating yourself," Lady Avalon chided playfully, waving a dismissive hand. "Am I right, golden woman?" After saying that, the Caster turned her gaze away from Rikka, looking toward an empty patch of air.
"Heh. I don't know how you have been teaching her to make her lack self-confidence like this. Are you even training her properly, Magus of the Inner Sea?"
Not long after the mocking voice echoed out, Gilgamesh materialized from her spirit form. The golden queen walked forward, the heavy, metallic clanking of her ornate armor echoing sharply against the cracked concrete with every confident step she took.
"My teaching is absolutely perfect! I already taught her most of what I know, but you know exactly why she is like this," Lady Avalon pouted dramatically at Gilgamesh before reaching over and roughly ruffling Rikka's hair.
"Tch, just do it already," Gilgamesh scoffed, narrowing her crimson eyes as she looked down at the Master. "Listen well, Guardian. If you keep staying like this, you will not survive the trials of the future. You need to change."
Rikka stayed silent for a few seconds. Taking a slow, deep breath, she looked up at Lady Avalon and Gilgamesh, her expression hardening with resolve.
"You are both right," Rikka said firmly. "I already promised that I wasn't going to depend on Denial anymore. So, I will try... no, I am definitely going to fight with the full intention to win!"
"Hehe, wonderful! I knew my disciple was ready," Lady Avalon cheered with a bright smile. "There is no need to worry. I will protect you from the backline."
"Then I shall see how well you dance, rather than merely depending on your illusions, Guardian," Gilgamesh said, a smug, expectant smirk crossing her features.
Walking forward, Rikka took her position directly in front of the two. It was an incredibly bizarre scene to witness—a human Master stepping onto the frontline to face a Servant, while her own Servant casually watched from behind.
"It seems you three are done plotting, but whatever you attempt, nothing is going to change!" Saber Alter's voice boomed.
Suddenly, the corrupted knight released an explosive surge of dense, dark Prana.
Kickstarting her Dragon Core, Saber unleashed a violent Mana Burst. The sheer concussive force of the magical shockwave cracked Lady Avalon's binding pillars before completely shattering the magical cage into fading sparks of pink light.
Freed from her restraints, Saber stepped forward and leveled her blackened blade. "I will make you pay for the lies you showed me!"
"It isn't really a lie, but you aren't going to believe me anyway!" Rikka shouted back, bracing herself against the heavy pressure of Saber's aura. "So, I am just going to have to knock some sense into you!"
Closing her eyes for a brief moment, she focused her Od. When her eyelids snapped open again, the color of her irises had completely shifted.
The striking, iridescent glow of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception flared to life, instantly altering her vision to perceive the fragile, jagged lines etched across the world around her.