About a minute later, the car Eriri and the others were in performed a sharp drift and came to a perfect stop in front of the hotel where Kayneth was staying.
However, none of them got out. Instead, they stayed casually seated inside the vehicle, waiting for their targets to walk into their trap.
Kayneth and his party moved quickly. Since their goal was clear, they wasted no time—they just wanted to get out of the dangerous Fuyuki City as soon as possible.
So, just a few minutes after Eriri and her group arrived at the hotel entrance, Kayneth and Sola appeared, pulling a suitcase, with Diarmuid standing guard beside them.
"The target's in sight. Arifureta, you're up," Eriri said with a cheerful smile, withdrawing her gaze from Kayneth's group and addressing Artoria in the front passenger seat.
"Understood. Leave it to me."
Without saying anything more, Artoria calmly opened the door and stepped out.
Now equipped with Avalon's defense and a steady supply of magical energy from Irisviel—enough to freely unleash her Noble Phantasms—she was absolutely confident in this battle against Lancer.
Avalon, the scabbard of the Sword of Promised Victory, also known as "The Distant Utopia," provided extraordinarily powerful defensive capabilities.
After Irisviel used the scabbard to summon Artoria, she returned it to her, greatly enhancing her defensive strength.
As soon as Artoria left the car, she strode forward without hesitation and blocked Kayneth's group in their path.
Seeing Artoria appear before them, both Kayneth and Diarmuid immediately tensed up, treating her as a formidable enemy.
Diarmuid stepped protectively in front of Kayneth and Sola, holding his twin spears—the crimson "Gae Dearg" and the golden "Gae Buidhe"—and took a combat stance.
Only Sola, who had never seen Artoria before, remained unaware of the danger. She followed Kayneth's lead and stopped in confusion.
"Hey, Kayneth, what's going on all of a sudden?" she asked impatiently, though not before sneaking a glance of admiration at Diarmuid.
"Sola, get back. That's the Servant of the Einzberns," Kayneth growled, biting his lip in frustration. "Damn it, we were still too late..."
At the mention of the Einzbern name, Sola's face turned pale.
She didn't know all the details of what had happened recently, but she knew that it was the people from the Einzbern camp who had made Kayneth give up on the Holy Grail War and flee Fuyuki in the first place.
"Then what should we do? Will Lancer be in danger?" she asked, clearly panicking.
The fact that her first concern wasn't her fiancé or even herself, but rather Diarmuid, caused Kayneth's expression to instantly darken.
Anger welled up within him.
Of course, his anger wasn't directed at Sola. As a devoted simp, he would never blame her. If there was someone to blame, it would be Diarmuid, who had "stolen" his fiancée's heart.
Though Kayneth's gaze was subtle, Diarmuid—sensitive to such things—picked up on it.
It filled him with sorrow.
Still, despite it all, he faithfully stood between his Master and danger. That was his vow as a knight.
"That pure fighting spirit... you must be Saber, right?"
Calming his emotions, Diarmuid looked seriously at Artoria.
"I am."
"I didn't expect you to come for us so quickly. Isn't your Master—that dangerously beautiful one—not going to show herself?"
"You're talking about Eriri? Sorry, but this kind of battle doesn't require her to step in. Your opponent is me, and me alone."
Artoria didn't bother correcting Diarmuid about Eriri not being her Master. In her eyes, there was no need.
"No need to apologize. I'm not arrogant enough to think I could face someone of her caliber," Diarmuid said calmly. "Besides, getting the chance to cross blades in a life-or-death duel with a warrior like you is more than enough."
He gave a casual flourish with his spear and fixed a sharp gaze on Artoria.
Artoria didn't reply in words—instead, she responded with action.
Brilliant white light surged from beneath her feet, swirling upward in a gust of wind. In an instant, her casual clothes transformed into a blue and white suit of armor, and she gripped an invisible sword shrouded in wind.
Just as the two were about to clash, a voice interrupted them.
"Wait! I have something to say," said Kayneth, forcing himself to stay composed as he stepped forward from behind Diarmuid. "Saber, could you ask Irisviel to come out? I want to speak with her."
"Whatever you have to say, say it to me. I'll pass it along to Irisviel," Artoria replied casually.
Kayneth glanced at Artoria, then at the car not far behind her, clearly hesitant.
He wanted to approach the car to speak with Eriri and the others, but he simply didn't have the courage.
After a few seconds of thought, he finally nodded. "I understand. You came here to eliminate us. But I have no interest in the Holy Grail War anymore."
He continued, "I can use a Command Seal to order Lancer to commit suicide, handing victory to you. In return, I only ask for safe passage out of Fuyuki City for myself and my fiancée."
Hearing this, Diarmuid's heart sank, while Artoria frowned deeply.
"Do you treat a knight who swore loyalty to you like a tool to discard at will?"
"What's wrong with that? I just want Sola and me to survive."
Kayneth showed no remorse in the face of Artoria's criticism. On the contrary, he spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Besides, even if Diarmuid defeated you now, he'd eventually fall to her anyway. I'm just making it happen sooner."
Behind him, Sola clenched her fists tightly. Her eyes were filled with hatred and disgust as she stared at Kayneth, feeling no gratitude at all for his so-called concern for her safety.
"You..."
Artoria, too, was stunned by Kayneth's shameless logic. Just as she was about to speak again, Eriri's voice suddenly rang out in her mind.
A few seconds later, Artoria exhaled and stared at Kayneth with an icy expression.
"We'll talk about that after my fight with Lancer."
"But—"
"No buts." She cut him off immediately. "Unless you want to die right now."
At that, Kayneth fell silent and quickly pulled Sola away to a safer distance.
With no further interruptions, the duel between Artoria and Diarmuid could finally begin.
"Thank you for standing up for me," Diarmuid said gratefully. "Though a knight should never reveal his identity before battle, I want to honor you by doing just that."
He then offered Artoria a formal Irish knight's salute.
"My name is Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, once a member of the Fianna Knights of Ireland."
The reason Diarmuid openly revealed his name was simple—he knew he was destined to fall today.
So rather than hide his identity, he preferred an open and honorable battle, something that aligned far more with his knightly code.
"Knight Diarmuid, I understand," Artoria nodded solemnly. "In that case, I won't take advantage of you. My name is Artoria Pendragon, King of Britain."
"The legendary King of Knights... what an honor."
"Lancer, let's end the talk here," Artoria said, raising the now-visible Excalibur, the Sword of Promised Victory, her eyes sharp as blades.
Diarmuid smiled. "Very well—let's begin!"
...
"They're finally starting? Geez, took them long enough," Rin muttered as she watched the battle unfold from the car.
Illya joined in with a cheer. "Yeah, yeah! With how strong Arifureta-nee is now, she should be able to wipe the floor with that guy wielding the twin spears!"
"Hehe, that's normal. Pre-battle banter is part of the fight too," Eriri replied with a grin.
Everyone inside the car—Eriri and the others—remained seated as usual. They didn't need to move to find a better view.
From their perspective, the car's body was fully transparent, allowing them to observe the fight outside with no obstructions.
Though the duel between Artoria and Diarmuid had only just begun, it had already entered an intense phase.
Under Artoria's relentless offense, Diarmuid was being pushed back step by step.
Thanks to a constant supply of magical energy, Artoria could fully empower her physical abilities through magical reinforcement.
Each of her strikes, strengthened to their absolute peak, forced Diarmuid to retreat several paces just to deflect the blow.
With every step he took, the ground cracked beneath his feet from the sheer force of impact.
"As expected of the King of Knights... incredible strength, incredible swordsmanship," Diarmuid said, shaking off the numbness in his arm with a roguish smile.
"Hmm? A charm spell?" Artoria's steps faltered for just a moment.
"Apologies. It's like a curse I was born with. I can't control it," Diarmuid said lightly, resting his crimson spear on his shoulder.
"Lancer, you don't seriously think such a charm spell would work on me, do you?"
"Haha, of course not. It'd be absurd if someone capable of pushing me this far were affected by something like that. Besides, the Saber class's magic resistance isn't just for show."
With that, Diarmuid lunged forward, launching a flurry of attacks with his twin spears, which Artoria parried with ease.
His Noble Phantasms were always active and didn't require True Name releases to use.
At this point, he was going all out, and both spears were exerting their full power.
Seizing a brief opening during one of Artoria's evasive movements, Diarmuid suddenly accelerated and stabbed with his left-hand spear—Gae Buidhe, which inflicted wounds that couldn't heal—aiming for her waist.
But Artoria had seen the move coming.
She could have blocked it with Excalibur as usual.
Instead, she turned and raised her left hand toward Diarmuid.
"Avalon!"
The scabbard of the Sword of Promised Victory suddenly appeared in front of Artoria's hand. In the next instant, it burst into hundreds of radiant fragments, wrapping around her in a dazzling display.
The moment the tip of Gae Buidhe struck the barrier formed by the scabbard, it was completely stopped—without even a ripple.
As an EX-rank barrier-type Noble Phantasm, Avalon transported Artoria into the realm of the fairies during its activation, making her untouchable by any attack.
Its level of defense reached into the domain of true magic—something even the Five True Magics of this world could not penetrate.
Though for someone like Eriri, or many of the other chat group members, it might seem a bit fragile, in this world it was undoubtedly the ultimate defense.
Watching from the car, Irisviel's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Wow! That move from Arifureta was so cool!"
"Mm, not bad," Eriri nodded in approval. "Even if we ignore how strong it is, at least the light effects around it are pretty impressive."
She had seen—and personally created—far more spectacular sights, but that didn't stop her from appreciating something beautiful when she saw it.
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