In Type-Moon, it all starts with adopting Sakura.

Because the sword energy came too fast, in the blink of an eye, Artoria could only grip the Holy Sword tightly, defending and retreating at the same time. However, Lovi's actions did not stop there. His sword grip suddenly changed, and then his magic power condensed again. Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, he aimed the sword directly at Artoria and then unleashed a long-planned beam of light from the Holy Sword.

"What is this...?!"

Seeing this familiar Liberation stance, Artoria raised an eyebrow, clearly understanding Lovi's intentions.

She tried to avoid him, but Lowe just snorted, "Too late."

"—Caliburn, (The Golden Sword of Victory)!!"

Immediately, the crimson Command Seal engraved on her arm vanished, instantly replenishing the magic power of the golden sword. Then, a golden light arrived in an instant, causing Artoria's pupils to slightly contract as she was about to dodge.

Clearly, she didn't understand why Luo Wei's power was charged up so quickly, and why he was able to unleash the true power of the Golden Sword.

In the critical moment, she dodged to the side and swung her holy sword to ride the blue gale in an attempt to counterattack. However, by the light of the moon, she vaguely saw that the light at the top of the magic wand stuck not far away suddenly flashed, and then a bad premonition suddenly arose in her heart.

'This is bad!!'

The arrival of this arrangement was almost completely silent.

As she retreated, the instant her foot touched the ground, a strange, crimson transmutation circle suddenly rose from the earth. Then, a flaming blade slashed down from behind her, aiming straight for Artoria's head. Saber, relying on her intuition, instinctively avoided the tragic fate of having her head severed by Michael's sword, leaving only a scorching scar on her back.

"Angels? No, this is... magic!"

Saber quickly realized, "Did you already consider this when you released your wand?"

Artoria looked at Lovi in ​​surprise, to which he simply smiled and replied nonchalantly, "You guessed right, Saber. After all, it's perfectly reasonable for an ordinary magician like me to use magic in battle, isn't it?"

After all, a certain British swordsman once said, "How can you become a grandmaster if you don't use a beam cannon?" Such a very reasonable saying.

Despite having A-rank physical stats thanks to the powerful support of Scáthach and Merlin (two green and red support characters), allowing him to briefly hold his own against the dragon Artoria, his imitated swordsmanship was ultimately not his own. His speed, angle, and timing were completely outmatched. To win, he needed to utilize his own strengths.

And one's own strengths need no further explanation, right?

"Now, let's try this."

I am the kingdom, wielding power and glory.

Raphael came before me, and Gabriel came after me.

Michael in my right hand, Uriel in my left.

A five-pointed star burns before me, a six-pointed star shines behind me.

From the void, we summon the holy angels from the other shores of land, sea, and air to this place.

Seeing that Artoria had fallen into the trap, Lovi immediately revealed his true abilities.

As he finished chanting the incantation, not only did the phantom of the Flame Angel appear to the right of Artoria, but three other phantoms of completely different colors—cyan, blue, and brown—suddenly appeared in different locations around her and launched their attacks.

Flames, hurricanes, water, earth.

Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel.

In that instant, the phase angels, composed of fire, wind, water, and earth—symbols of the four basic elements that make up the world—launched a terrifying attack with fierce momentum, aiming to subdue Artoria, who was trapped at the very center of the formation.

This imposing presence even made Scáthach, who was watching from the sidelines, raise an eyebrow, finding it amusing.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, it would be hard to imagine that such an attack could have come from the hand of a modern magician.

In her opinion, the combined attack of the four archangels was comparable to an A-rank Noble Phantasm.

So... is it over?

No, things are certainly not as simple as they seem.

In the blink of an eye, Artoria steadied herself, calmed her breathing, and then the magic power compressed within her petite body suddenly erupted. She then wielded her holy sword and launched another tidal wave of attacks. Her figure was like that of a true dragon. Even when facing four angels attacking at the same time, her eyes showed no fear as she continued to forge ahead!

— Clang clang clang clang clang clang!

Swords flashed and clashed wildly in the courtyard beneath their feet.

"—EX...calibur, (Excalibur)!!"

"...Is it a Noble Phantasm? Then bring it on!!"

In response to Lo Wei, the seal on the Star Sword in his hand was released, and the brilliant starlight fell from the sky like a galaxy, rising up with a dazzling golden radiance.

The once dark courtyard was now completely illuminated by the light of the holy sword. In response to this move, the magic power unleashed by the four angels was ignited, and four distinct elemental forces began to rage beneath her feet.

The terrifying power emanating from it sometimes burned the surrounding trees to ashes, sometimes left horrifying scratches on the stone pavement, and sometimes mercilessly smashed the sturdy walls.

In an instant, the entire area was engulfed and covered by the burst of magic power.

……

Soon after, a golden beam of light suddenly shot up from the castle, its dazzling light piercing the dark night sky like a galaxy, shining brightly under the night sky of Fuyuki City.

The once ancient and magnificent Eindzbern Castle beneath their feet had been completely reduced to ruins by their reckless actions. Even the surrounding forest had been blasted into a bottomless ravine by a beam of light.

At this moment, the surrounding area was in complete disarray.

"You're really exaggerating ridiculously..."

Amidst the ruins, a much more disheveled Luo Wei leaned on his sword and barely managed to stand. Looking at Artoria, who was equally covered in dust but still full of energy, he couldn't help but retort, "...Anti-Magic Rank A, you're practically the bane of us magicians. Are you some kind of humanoid Tyrannosaurus Rex?"

"..."

Artoria didn't answer, her gaze fixed firmly on Lovi. The Noble Phantasm she had just unleashed had taken a toll on her. It was hard to believe she'd been forced to use her Noble Phantasm by a mere magician. Having just suffered such a loss, she dared not underestimate him again, her expression turning serious.

Compared to Artoria, the most frustrated person at this moment was Lovi.

After a fierce battle, even though she used magic to trick her opponent in advance, the final result was still that Artoria, with her superb A-level magic resistance, withstood the four angels he summoned and cut them all to pieces, and then finished them off with a Noble Phantasm. She was truly domineering and unreasonable.

"Then, let's assume you've tacitly agreed with my first question."

"Seeing your hopeless state, I'm too lazy to ask the second question that I was prepared with a series of progressive questions. So let's just go straight to the last question..."

Seeing that all four angels had been eliminated by Artoria, Lovi, who had taken some time to adjust his condition, walked towards her with a smile, holding a golden sword. This made Artoria frown, wondering what trick he was up to this time.

next moment……

puff! !

That was the sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh, followed by a spray of blood that gushed out like a fountain, staining half of Luo Wei's clothes red.

Artoria's straight sword pierced through Lovi's shoulder, causing extremely serious damage. However, Lovi still looked at her indifferently, without even a change in his expression. He still had that calm smile, which made Artoria feel a chill down her spine.

Then an even more horrifying scene unfolded before her eyes.

Despite having his shoulder pierced by a sharp blade, Luo Wei neither dodged nor avoided it. Instead, he faced the blade head-on, allowing it to completely penetrate his shoulder, and took a large step closer to her. Then, he reached out and tightly gripped her wrist.

"We've finally caught you..."

"--What?!"

Artoria stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"You probably can't dodge this far, right?"

A chilling smile appeared on Lovi's lips as he suddenly moved closer, his other hand gripping Artoria's wrist tightly, his eyes fixed intently on her.

"Now it's your turn to answer my question, Saber. What kind of development would be acceptable to you, or what kind of ending would you be willing to accept?"

"In other words, what do you think is the proper way for a nation to die? What kind of demise would you find acceptable? Now, I reiterate, I reject ambiguous answers, and I urge you to address this question seriously!"

Luo Wei questioned loudly, his previously slightly smiling eyes now becoming extremely serious. He stared directly into Artoria's eyes, tearing apart her inner pretense and forcing her to confront the question she had been avoiding, compelling her to give a decent answer.

This is the first step in counseling her, helping her confront her inner feelings.

Reasoning with such a simple-minded knight king is useless; only fists and swords can make her listen to what he has to say.

Even if she won't listen, you have to beat her until she has no choice but to listen!

"What exactly do you want..."

Seeing that Rowe was completely disregarding his injuries, allowing the Sword of Victory to pierce through his shoulder and approach her step by step, Artoria's face showed shock. For a moment, she even forgot that she was still in the middle of a battle; all she could see were Rowe's eyes, and her mind kept replaying the question she had just heard.

Even though most of his arm was almost severed, Luo Wei seemed to have completely forgotten the pain, his expression unchanged. He continued forward, questioning and demanding the answer from Artoria's heart.

"What is reality to you? What is an acceptable ending?"

"What exactly is the expectation of a peaceful, as if asleep, demise? Have you really thought about it carefully?"

His words were like sharp blades, like demonic chants, piercing Artoria's chest and echoing endlessly in her mind.

This caused Saber, who had just made up her mind, to waver once again.

"What exactly is going on?"

"Wow--!!"

Before she could even be surprised or question it, she heard a whooshing sound and then let out a shrill scream. Her delicate face was struck hard in an instant, and the solid punch knocked her to the ground.

boom!

His body slammed heavily into the ground—

Gravel, soil, and dust all trembled and rose up!

In that instant, Artoria understood exactly what Rowe meant by "I've got you."

In order to block his strongest weapon, he actually used his own body to block his sword.

"Time is almost up, Saber. If possible, please answer quickly."

With a smile, Luo Wei didn't stop. He pinched his fingers together and pointed to the ground, using the power of earth element to press a thick and heavy layer of soil onto Artoria's body. With his other hand, he grabbed her arm, and then used his free feet to kick her face and abdomen with a series of powerful kicks.

Bang bang bang—!

The strength, which had been enhanced to the level of A-rank, kept falling on Artoria.

Saber, who was trying to break free from the soil and get up, was stomped back into the ground. Although Artoria was a stunningly beautiful woman like Scáthach, Rowe showed no mercy for her because of her looks.

Kick her in the face if you can, kick her in the stomach if you can, just aim for the vitals. Strike while the iron is hot and finish her off to prevent this lioness from retaliating.

He came to comfort Artoria, not to be bullied or beaten.

And he had already realized the truth of the saying, "Good advice is useless to a damned devil." For such a guy, you have to beat him until he can't take care of himself, until he's half-dead, only then will he listen to advice.

A complete barbarian, with a blockhead.

Since ancient times, the first step in taming barbarians has been to subdue them!

The relentless, merciless kicks were so brutal that even Merlin, hiding in the Starry Sea, felt it was a bit too extreme, and he felt sorry for Artoria, who was being rubbed and pressed down by Lovi.

Even when she was alive, Artoria had never been beaten like this.

This made him wonder if the kid's so-called theories—"Spare the rod and spoil the child" and "The best way to wake someone who is pretending to be asleep is to beat them awake"—were really reliable.