"Good judgment."
The Blackened Artoria nodded approvingly at Roy's achievement.
"But what's the use for you to obtain a Lesser Holy Grail that only contains the lingering souls of Servants in full bloom? The souls inside are restless, and you can't even draw magical energy from it."
"And what's more—"
She poured the remaining mana in her body madly into the magical sword in her hand.
The sword surged with vast, ocean-like magical power. A black aurora once again condensed along the blade, and a terrifying pressure instantly descended upon everyone present.
"What are you trying to do?!"
Okita looked at the Blackened Artoria in disbelief.
"Your left hand is already unusable. One hand alone can't possibly control such enormous power. You might even hurt yourself!"
Upon closer look, just as she said—
Blackened Artoria was holding the sword with only her right hand. Though the surging mana caused the sword to emit immense pressure, the massive recoil made her sword-wielding arm tremble uncontrollably, clearly unable to withstand such force.
"You're absolutely right."
Her face showed no trace of gloom, nor any heaviness as if betting her life. She simply sneered wordlessly.
"In this state, if I unleash such a strike... who do you think will die? I'm quite curious myself!"
What a lunatic! She really intends to unleash a Noble Phantasm even she can't control!
"Saber, use the Lesser Holy Grail!"
At that moment, Roy's tense shout suddenly rang out.
As if receiving a signal, Okita gritted her teeth and shoved the newly obtained Lesser Holy Grail into her body.
In an instant, she felt the overwhelming mana of the Lesser Holy Grail—it was bottomless, like an abyss, an ocean.
But simultaneously, she felt the six wandering Servant souls inside rampaging, making it completely impossible to control the Holy Grail's power.
"In the name of a Command Spell, I order you—use the second and third seals as well—Saber, become a Guardian!"
Without hesitation, Roy burned through three Command Spells in a single breath. The stigmata on his wrist flashed and vanished, transforming into pure magical energy that surged into Okita.
Okita took a deep breath, as if to purge all distracting thoughts from her mind.
She had made up her mind.
The magical energy of the Command Spells drew the souls from the Lesser Holy Grail into her body. From the deepest parts of her being, it began a fine-tuned reformation at the smallest unit of her existence—her spiritrons.
"Hammer of the Vile King, reverse the rising sun—!"
Blackened Artoria raised her magical sword, now bursting with radiance like light itself.
Her eyes locked onto Okita.
Her instincts screamed—something extremely dangerous was happening to this Saber.
Without hesitation, she swung the overcharged sword at Okita.
"Don't even think about it!"
Jeanne, who had been closely observing the ever-changing battle, noticed that Okita was now immobilized. Without a second thought, she leapt forward, crossing her twin lances in front of her to form a shield.
The magical sword crashed down like a massive hammer, and the impact far exceeded her expectations.
Even with residual magical reinforcement from the Command Spells, Jeanne was forced to her knees, cold sweat pouring down her face, arms shaking uncontrollably.
Just as she was about to collapse under the pressure, another arrow flew from the distance.
Blackened Artoria instinctively sensed danger and had no choice but to abandon Jeanne, turning her sword to slice the arrow midair. It shattered on contact.
She looked down at her right hand. One-handed sword control was already difficult, and forcing a swing had torn something in her wrist—she almost dropped her blade from the searing pain.
"...Huh?"
At that moment, a wave of magic so intense it made her heart tremble surged through the air.
Across the battlefield, enveloped in inexpressible light, Okita's figure visibly transformed.
Her short hair, once somewhere between pink and gold, lost its sheen and extended into long strands of silvery-pink. Her garments faded away—no more haori or kimono. In their place was a short skirt and long robe, black and red interwoven. Her katana had become a giant nodachi taller than herself.
As the magical light receded, she appeared to have completely changed.
She slowly opened her eyes.
They were still Okita's eyes, but now distant and cold, tinged with confusion and disorientation. The light in them flickered like stars behind heavy clouds.
"Saber, release your Noble Phantasm!"
A familiar voice rang out, stirring something deep within her.
These were the words of someone important.
The realization passed through her mind—and her body responded instinctively.
Her massive nodachi was unsheathed in a flash!
The blade gleamed with a red light as bright and ominous as a death omen.
"—Pierce through dust and ruin. With boundless light, sever fate!"
The Okita Alter stepped forward.
The boundless light burst forth from her blade, a golden radiance diametrically opposed to the inverse holy sword.
"Devour the light, Excalibur Morgan—Sword of Promised Victory!"
Blackened Artoria's sword filled with mana first, firing a black aurora like a comet roaring through the sky.
Jeanne and the transformed Okita Alter moved in sync, shielding Roy from the incoming strike.
Roy didn't waste a moment either, layering primordial Runes in front of himself to buy just a little more time.
But the torrent of black light veered off course, missing Roy entirely and slamming into the castle behind him.
The magical sword in Blackened Artoria's hand trembled violently. The uncontrolled blast from the sword swept back and forth across the castle, unleashing continuous explosions.
Gritting her teeth, she poured the last of her mana into her right hand, trying desperately to steer the aurora, which surged like a hundred-meter-long greatsword toward Roy and the others.
But at that moment—the reversal had arrived.
"—Absolute Sword - Endless Three-Stage!"
Okita Alter roared and stabbed forward.
Boundless light descended like it came from the edge of the heavens.
The golden brilliance gleamed like the holy sun, but within it lay the dark gleam of a black hole—refusing all.
This was the Light of Immeasurability, the Light of Non-Obstruction, the Light of Infinity!
It radiated a perilous aura, and from the side, it struck the black aurora and knocked it away.
Then, with a sweeping horizontal slash, Okita Alter unleashed the Absolute Sword - Endless Three-Stage—a blade wide enough to reach the ends of the earth—back at the Blackened Artoria!
A Demon is a Demigod.
Immeasurable, Unobstructed, Boundless—three lights combined into The Void Without End.
This was Okita Alter's Noble Phantasm—an A-rank Anti-World Noble Phantasm. The Absolute Sword - Endless Three-Stage could banish anything it touched from this world. Even things that shouldn't or couldn't exist could be forcibly expelled and annihilated.
The blinding beam tore forward, crushing Blackened Artoria head-on. The aurora was shattered in an instant as the beam washed over her like a tide drowning a lone rock in the surf.
***
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