Artoria was alone as she made her way up the forested mountain of Enzo. The Sun had set and it was time for the moment that would decide humanity's fate. Everyone had separated into small groups who were approaching the entrance to the Greater Grail's domain from different directions. They didn't want to be all bunched together since they could all get sniped by a single Anti-Army Noble Phantasm that way. Lord El-Melloi II asked if Assassin could supply enough of his invisibility robes for everyone to use, but he said that it was impossible because it would use up too much of his magical energy and he wanted to conserve all of it for the fight to come. As for why Artoria was traveling alone, it was because everyone was separated into groups based on their individual missions.
Artoria's mission was one she had to complete on her own, and that was to overcome Dolorous Guard. As long as that castle was surrounding the true cave where the Greater Grail was, nobody could get to the corrupted wish granter without having to defeat the fortress' challenges. While it would likely only take besting Dolorous Guard's test once to get rid of it, only one person could face the multiple waves of enemies at a time. If they weren't careful, the alliance to destroy the Grail would lose multiple people to the castle and anyone who did best it was sure to be exhausted. Artoria volunteered to take on the castle due to the foes in the castle likely using styles of combat from her era, styles she had learned the weaknesses of. Also, she was no longer afflicted with the cursed wounds of Lancer's spears and she had gotten a boost to her stats thanks to Illya becoming her Master. The King of Knights was the strongest she had ever been in her second life, to the point that she was confident that even Heracles couldn't defeat her.
Of course, Artoria's true motive was more selfish. She just wanted to have the chance to talk with the Servant with Guinevere's face and Lancelot's capabilities. While their true nature was currently obscure, they were a specter of Artoria's past that she had to deal with. It was both her responsibility as King Arthur to deal with this strange Alter, and it would be the last step Artoria needed to take to finally put the past to rest. Not only that, but the path would be clear for everyone else to get into the cave while still at full power. Artoria's victory was the linchpin in this entire operation. This responsibility, along with the idea of meeting someone who looked like Guinevere, should have made Artoria stressed, but instead she felt at peace. The intensity of the situation caused the king's mind to enter a mode of deep focus to maximize her effectiveness. She was ready.
With armor on and invisible sword in hand, Artoria arrived at the gate of Dolorous Guard. She opened it and stepped in to find herself within the bounds of a familiar castle. In front of Artoria was a great open space of Grey brick lit by unnaturally bright torches, the area large enough to fit a city block within it. At the far end was a tall wall, and Artoria looked back to see that there was an identical wall behind her. The gate had disappeared and, looking up, there was nothing by uncarved stone, likely that of the mountain which this structure was forced within. The addition of a ceiling had turned the normally open court into a cube shaped room. The only light was from the torches that lined the walls, leaving the room dark, but not so much so that sight was lost.
Bronze colored liquid began seeping out of the ground from between the bricks and rising upward. Artoria got ready to move at a moment's notice as the fluid formed into humanoid shapes that surrounded the King of Knights. More details appeared. Pauldrons, helmets, chest plates, and more. In a circle around Artoria were ten knights in bulky bronze armor, their entire bodies encased, though there might not have actually been anything inside those metallic shells. Each held different weapons, from a sword and shield, to a spear, to a mace. Each was ten feet tall. These warriors were the first wave that Artoria had to defeat.
"I assume you'll all attack me at once. Could you truly call yourselves knights if you fight in a way that so deeply lacks chivalry?"
The knights all ran at Artoria who jumped above, doing a flip in the air that positioned her so she was upside-down. With a horizontal slash, she aimed to lop off the heads of all ten warriors simultaneously, but the first one her blade approached raised their spear and blocked. Artoria's weapon was stopped in its tracks and she was stuck in the air as the other nine knights launched their own attacks. A Mana Burst allowed Artoria to push herself off the spear and away from the incoming blades and arrows. She touched the ground, but nine of the ten knights were already in her face before she could do anything. The only one who stayed back was an archer who sent a volley of arrows in their place. Thanks to Artoria's prescience when it came to predicting enemy attacks, the king was able to block and dodge the various weapons of her enemies despite them outnumbering her. That wasn't to say that some slices and stabs didn't get past her guard and graze her more than a few times. It was no wonder Lancelot needed a boost from enchanted shields to overcome this challenge, each of these knights could earn a seat on the Round Table for their strength and skill.
The bronze men had surrounded Artoria again in a single moment and this time they aimed their attacks vertically downward so the King of Knights couldn't dodge upward like last time. They were smart and able to coordinate. Since up wasn't an option, down was next. Artoria slammed the ground with the flat side of her translucent blade, causing the floor to break apart and the entire room to shake like there was a magnitude 10 earthquake. Stone became like waves of water and five of the knights were off balance while the other half, including the distant archer, jumped right at the moment of impact to avoid the chaos on the ground. It was time for the counterattack. Artoria avoided more arrows as she ran across the tops of the waves of earth, right up to one stumbling knight. A single slash was all that was necessary to split the man from helm to groin. The figure returned to liquid. One down.
The other knights were imitating Artoria's feat of predicting the positions of the waves and running across them. As they closed in, Artoria ran at them and, as soon as one swung their flail at her, she grabbed it with her thick glove. With a pull the knight was dragged closer to the king of knights for an impalement, but before the tip could pierce the bronze man, arrows shot at Artoria which forced her to sidestep and miss her stab. It was then that the knight that Artoria just pulled in latched his arms around Artoria. Her arms were pinned in the bear hug as yet more arrows and several other weapons approached the King of Knights' vitals. There was no way to escape, at least not with the elegance of a proper knight. While Artoria would always prize her honor in the past, there were more important things to worry about and so she decided to fight a little more like Mordred would. Artoria's head jerked back before smashing it right into the armored face of the knight hugging her. The king couldn't remember the last time she performed a headbutt, but it worked well as the center of the helmet's face caved in. The knight was alive, but their hold loosened enough for Artoria to not only free herself, but grab the bronze man's arms to use them to shield herself from the incoming attacks. Blades and arrows destroyed the bronze knight's arms while Artoria used a Mana Burst to enhance a jump that sent her to the ceiling.
Looking down at her nine opponents, she singled out the archer who was already firing more arrows at her. Time for another Mordred move. Artoria did something that felt sacrilegious. She threw her sword. The invisible weapon became like a buzzsaw as it sliced through the arrows and headed right for the archer who dodged out of the way. Unfortunately for the bowman, Artoria had kicked off the ceiling to shoot herself right for them, her fist colliding with their helmet. The bronze figure's head was slammed into the ground by the punch, the helm and its contents crumpling. Two down.
The remaining knights charged at Artoria as the ground finally settled into an uneven mess. She grabbed her sword and ran away towards a corner of the room, dodging a spear that was thrown at her as she did. Artoria got right in the corner and turned to face the incoming enemies. The biggest danger that came with fighting a group when alone was getting surrounded. That meant there were always attacks coming from blindspots or areas that couldn't be as quickly protected such as the back, as well as there being multiple attacks from different directions that can't be guarded simultaneously. By moving to a corner, that limited the directions attacks could come from and Artoria could watch what all her enemies were doing at once.
Of course, it wasn't that simple when super strength was involved. The walls at Artoria's sides would normally limit the range of movement of the enemy knights, hindering their ability to swing their weapons, but their power allowed them to just swing their blades and poles right through the solid stone as if it were just air. That meant that cornering herself lost a benefit it normally would, but at least the areas the enemies could stand and attack from were still restricted. Artoria's focus increased as she blocked and deflected as many of the enemy's thrusts and swings as she could. Some still got through, a morning star driving into her side and breaking her ribs, along with various stab wounds and cuts peppering her skin and muscle. Artoria wasn't just defending as she was slipping in her own attacks that were far more effective now that her foes were bunched tightly together. A stab through the head took out one, and a slice that severed a head took out another. Four down. The knight whose arms were destroyed was fighting with kicks now, but it wasn't enough to let him keep up and he was pierced through the heart. Five down.
Artoria was currently dueling four of the knights at once, the fifth burrowing into a wall to get behind Artoria and attack from there. Part of the plan involved the knight taking advantage of being in the walls to obfuscate their exact position, but Artoria's Instinct created a hole in that tactic. One backwards thrust into the corner behind her and Artoria had stabbed both stone and the body of the knight. As for what she hit, it wasn't anything immediately vital because the knight in the wall kept moving. Their sword stabbed out of the wall and towards Artoria right as a spear was coming for her as well. With a precise spin, Artoria avoided both weapons and grabbed each as they continued moving forward and she was rotating, pulling them towards new targets. The spear went through the rock and right into the warrior in the wall while the sword went right into the neck of the spearman. Both knights stopped moving. Seven down.
Artoria grabbed the spearman right as the remaining three knights went in for a three-pronged attack, using the body as a shield to take the blows before it could liquify. As the human wall crumbled under the three-fold blows, Artoria juked around them and sliced another knight in half at the waist. As the bisected knight began to drop, it tried to get a hit in with its mace, but the knight in silver knocked the bludgeon away before slicing the bronze warrior's head off. Eight down.
With only two left, Artoria no longer needed to rely on more complex and nonstandard strategies, just her own mastery of swordsmanship. The remaining knights tried to swamp her with attacks again, but Artoria was able to keep up rather easily now, especially when she used a Mana Burst to give her the strength boost she needed to cut clean through both the knights and their weapons in a single slash. Ten down.
Artoria checked to make sure all the knights were nothing but puddles now and that no more would come for her until she moved to the next wall. Upon confirming that, the king collapsed onto a knee, sword stabbed into the ground to prop herself up. It was a taxing battle, though that was partly due to the fact that Artoria was restricting herself from relying on Mana Burst or using her strongest assets like Strike Air and Excalibur since she wanted to conserve energy for the final duel. She savored the moment's respite despite knowing it wouldn't last long. Magical energy sewed the king's wounds closed as she contemplated everything she did right and wrong in that last fight in preparation for the next. Artoria also thought about her allies and how they were doing. There was always the chance the Grail laid a trap for them, it was honestly pretty likely, but Artoria trusted her family would be able to handle themselves while they waited for Dolorous Guard to be conquered.
Ending her reprieve, Artoria stood up and faced a gateway that appeared from nowhere. She dashed at it and gave it a kick that knocked the doors off their hinges and turned them to shrapnel that tore up the next room that was identical to the first. The floor from which the bronze ooze was meant to seep up from was broken apart. The liquid that was meant to form soldiers splashed into the air, quickly taking humanoid form. Artoria's surprise attack had taken the knights off guard and left them playing catch up. The King of Knights lopped the heads off two of the bronze figures right when they finished taking shape. She attempted to do the same with a third, but the bronze knight stopped the invisible sword with their kite shield. That was no problem as Artoria used Mana Burst as she kept pushing into the shield with her blade, tearing through it and the warrior behind it. In the last room, Artoria took down the last two knights by cutting through their weapons with a Mana Burst attack. That told the King of Knights that, despite these bronze knights having Servant level parameters, their armaments weren't Noble Phantasms, nor were they on the level of them. With just a little extra force, Artoria could deal handly dismantle the arsenal of her foes. That along with Artoria having learned the attack patterns of the enemy warriors, as well as the fact that they will imitate and adapt to their foes in effective but obvious ways, meant this round wouldn't take long.
The remaining seven knights tried to swarm Artoria, but she destroyed most of their weapons in one swing, though a jousting lance did pierce thigh. The king bisected the weapon in her leg before it got too deep. A barrage of fists came Artoria's way and a few hit their mark, but Artoria responded with a wide slash that split the seven warriors in half at the chest. A few more swings and the bronze men were in pieces.
That was quick, but not painless. Artoria stayed on her feet this time as she took a breather to let her body regenerate. Next up was the true battle. The King of Knights let her heart be strong, but not closed off. This wasn't just a fight, it was the time to get closure.
Artoria reached the last gate, considering if she should kick it so she could use the same strategy she used for the second wave, but she decided against it. She needed a chance to talk first. The king pushed open the doors and walked into the final room. It was a throne room that was dimly lit like the others, if not even darker. Tattered blue banners hung on the walls and a carpet led from the doorway to the thrones at the room's center where a figure sat stiffly in dark armor of familiar design. The one wearing the armor had a face that was even more familiar. Those emerald eyes, that brown hair, those glasses. It really was Guinevere, or at least someone with her appearance. There was a feeling of constriction around Artoria's insides, the same feeling the king felt when she realized the identity of Berserker in the Fourth War. It wasn't as intense this time. It didn't leave Artoria shaken to the point of near incapacitation. This time, Artoria was ready to face this.
"Apologies for keeping you waiting." Artoria dropped her combat stance. "I want to greet you properly, but I don't know who you truly are. If I may be so bold and a touch rude, could you tell me who you are?"
"Still so formal." said the Servant on the throne. "I'll do you the courtesy. I am Guinevere, but I am also Lancelot. You could say that Lancelot is my core, and Guinevere is my shell."
"You are an Altered version of Lancelot in that case."
"Yes. I am technically Lancelot Alter, but I'm also more than that. I possess the Noble Phantasm, For Guinevere's Glory. It represents the relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere, especially the aspect of Lancelot acting as Guinevere's secret champion. That willingness of Lancelot's to sacrifice so much for Guinevere's sake combined with his ability to disguise his true identity to become the ability to take on the appearance and memories of Guinevere."
"That sounds similar to Mordred Alter's armor that lets him impersonate me, but superior."
"I do not just imitate Guinevere, I am the unification of Lancelot and Guinevere. I am the strongest feelings they share, and those feelings are all about you, King Arthur." The Alter stood and summoned a blackened Arondight to their hand. "I am their hatred for you for all the pain you caused them."
"For not punishing them or taking action until it was too late?" Artoria was exhausted with herself.
"You put Guinevere to death, but not because of your own desire to punish her, but for the sake of appeasing those in your kingdom who would not accept their king being cuckolded without appropriate retribution. Your inability to truly commit drove Lancelot to madness with guilt, most of your knights to die in combat with each other, and Guinevere to be marked as a whore who caused Camelot's downfall." Arondight was pointed at Artoria. "All this could have been avoided if you just let yourself be human. That was why Lancelot and Guinevere had their affair, to goad you into taking off the armor around your heart."
"I was fully aware of their goal, I just couldn't bring myself to be vulnerable." Artoria maintained eye contact with Guinevere-Lancelot. It hurt to hear about her failures again, but she couldn't run from them nor wallow in them. "The ultimate fault for everything that happened back then falls on my shoulders. I apologize with all my heart. Is there anything I could do to make amends?"
"Suffer and die like we did." The knight in black's voice made the air gain a chill.
"I can't do that. I have people I must protect and I can't do that if I die here. They are more important to me than either of you are, if I am being honest." Artoria got back in her fighting stance.
"So now you choose to be selfish?"
"I don't know how selfish I'm truly being when I'm choosing to fight to protect others rather than dying to appease you. This is different from back in Camelot however. Unlike then, I am acting with my heart open and on display, doing as I wish."
"Of course you change only now, when it serves to sustain your current happy life." Guinevere-Lancelot's spite was obvious. "Little good that does us. We weren't so lucky as to get a second chance and yet you still get to frolic along with your new wife and children despite our suffering having been the result of your actions. Do you feel no shame?"
"I do. I understand how you feel and I won't tell you you're wrong, but I'm doing what I couldn't before. I'm being selfish. I'm selfishly choosing my family over you two and your desires. If that means you can't rest in peace, then that's unfortunate for you. It won't sway my heart." Artoria held her sword with both hands, her muscles like compressed springs ready to expand and fire her towards her enemy.
"I won't allow you to enjoy your new happiness after you ruined us. We won't allow you." Guinevere-Lancelot gripped their blade with both hands as well.
"Despite choosing my new family over both of you, I will still do something for you. I will kill you and thus free you from the hatred that has putrefied this manifestation of your being."
"Do not be arrogant. Remember that Lancelot was said to be a superior combatant to even you, King Arthur."
"Yes, and it's about time I put that misconception to rest." Artoria smiled.
The distance between the knights became zero and their weapons smashed into each other. The knights' swords entered a dynamic bind, the two warriors constantly repositioning their blades as they pressed into each other to try and cut their opponent. Nostalgia hit Artoria as she recognized the unique habits of Lancelot's swordplay. As the dark knight was able to consistently put pressure on Artoria, even as they continually repositioned their swords and feet, the former king pushed her hilt forward. Her sword became a slope that Arondight slid down, carried by the force of the dark knight's own pushing. The blackened blade slipped off the invisible weapon, leaving Guinevere-Lancelot's torso unguarded and right next to Artoria. The silver knight slashed at the Alter Servant, but the translucent blade was stopped when Guinevere-Lancelot raised a knee and brought down their elbow to catch the sword between them. Such a maneuver would have been impossible for almost anyone unfamiliar with the invisible Excalibur's dimensions, but Lancelot knew that Holy Sword well. Arondight was thrust at Artoria who dodged out of the way, her stepping to the side causing her captured sword to pivot. The area of the blade that was pinched between the dark knight's knee and elbow acted as an axis for the weapon to rotate. The tip of the blade swung towards the dark knight's side, forcing them to release the sword and jump back to avoid getting sliced open.
The duel shifted to a more traditional sword fight. Each fighter swung their swords at each other, the combatants dodging and deflecting each other's attacks as they both stayed on the move. They zipped around the room, leaving gashes in the floor and walls. The space became a contained hurricane that eroded away the surfaces, turning clearly defined bricks into amorphous masses of gray that blended together. Things intensified further when Guinevere-Lancelot charged his sword with blue energy and Artoria started using Mana Burst. Sounds like thunder rocked the fortress as the knights left craters in the wake of the slashes. The way everything quaked made it seem like the very World itself was writhing in pain as it tried to contain this battle. The surroundings became a haze of flying debris that had pulverized, a gray sandstorm with Artoria and Guinevere-Lancelot as its ever moving epicenter. Sprinklings of blood mixed into the chaos as the warriors began taking hits. Sharp edges broke through armor woven from magical energy and left long cuts on the fighters' bodies. Each wound was deeper than the last as both knights became more ferocious. Artoria was definitely in worse shape due to taking hits from a sword with the property of dragon-slaying, as well as having already fought twenty other knights before this.
"What's wrong, King Arthur?" The dark knight shouted over the sound of raging wind. "Is this the extent of your resolve?"
"No!"
Artoria released the Invisible Air, the wind expanding out into a second hurricane before wrapping around the silver knight as a transparent aura. Excalibur was revealed in all its glory, the light of its blade shining through the storm as if it were the only light left in the entire universe. That sliver of radiance met with the dark sword that shone blue, an explosion of energy being released that blew both knights away from each other. They dashed at each other again, both of them planting their feet firmly this time as their blades danced together and lit up the room with gold and blue. No more dodging. Power met power, technique met technique. This was the test to see who was truly superior when it came to the fundamentals of swordsmanship.
"So you think you can overcome this hatred? This isn't just the fury of Lancelot and Guinevere, but also that of the Grail and all the evils it embodies! Over a billion curses together is where my power comes from, how could you ever defeat that, especially when you hold no hatred in your own heart?" The dark knight's strength only continued to increase with every strike. Their wrath only served to empower them while Artoria could only get weaker as the fight dragged on.
"It isn't your hatred you feel, it is the poison of the Grail that makes you this way!" Artoria didn't step back, meeting the dark knight's vitriol head on. "I am going to free you!"
"With what? You have nothing inside you to give life to your sword!"
"Yes, I do! It is something that easily outclasses your billions of curses!"
"And what's that?"
"Love!"
"Are you jesting?" The dark knight swung so hard that Artoria nearly fell backward, but she tensed her abs and pulled herself forward to swing back, returning to the fight. "You have no love in your heart! Even if you did, such childish sentiments are nothing compared to the hatred you face!"
"You call me childish and then prattle on about hatred! Your nihilistic anger serves only to fuel the tantrum of the Greater Grail, for what else is killing all of humanity for the sins of the few but a tantrum? What will your hate achieve? Only pain from which more hatred will be bred!" Artoria's silver armor returned to the magical energy from which it was made, leaving her with just her sapphire dress, that power being repurposed to amplifying the king's attack power. The armor no longer did her any good as defense, so it was better to use that energy to help boost her offense along with Mana Burst.
"Is love any better? It is you scorning Mordred's love that led him to betray you! You have no right to speak of love!" Guinevere-Lancelot was getting faster.
"That's true, but I don't care! I already told you, I made mistakes in the past and I'm choosing not to make them again! You are stuck in the past!"
"Because you left us in the past!"
After one last clash of blades, both weapons and the arms that held them were knocked back. The knights met their gazes. They both knew what the other was going to do. Both knights held their swords in front of themselves, the weapons charging their ultimate attacks. Magical energy was forced into Arondight beyond its normal limit, overloading it without damaging it due to the blade's famed invincibility. The edge shined with the blue of the Unbreakable Lake Light that would be a certain kill if it hit Artoria dead on. The King of Knights' blade became a pillar of light as photons gathered around Excalibur. The sword was held above, ready to be swung down and be released as a laser that would leave nothing behind of the Atler Servant. Who would release their attack first? That was the question neither knight wasted time pondering as it would only serve to delay them. The space became a sea of gold and blue light that seeked to devour each other.
"Arondight-"
"Ex-"
Both knights took a step forward and swung their arms down. Everything became slow, so slow it was as if time had frozen in its tracks. Every millimeter the swords moved felt like it took hours. Artoria couldn't feel herself breathing, nor feel the flow of her blood. It was as if her entire body had frozen besides her arms, all so she could put every bit of her energy into swinging Excalibur. The dark knight's swing was faster, but Arondight had to reach Artoria's body in order to kill her. Excalibur didn't have to reach as far in order for it to unleash its light and atomize Guinevere-Lancelot. It appeared that Artoria would complete her attack first, but both she and the dark knight knew that wasn't the case. They had both foreseen what was to come. It wasn't through the use of any skills or anything of that nature. It was their experience and understanding of what each other would do that allowed them to see how this exchange would play out. Arondight wasn't aiming to hit Artoria dead on. It was going for something much closer. The edge of the black sword cut into Artoria's right arm. Excalibur needed both hands to work. Artoria could feel the sword slice clean through her flesh and bone, its anti-dragon effect causing the king pain that coursed through her whole body and down to her Core.
"Overload!"
Before the two pieces that Artoria's arm had become could separate, the wound released Arondight's stored up power in an expansion of light. The limb was destroyed in an instant while Excalibur's golden energy lost cohesion and petered out. The rays of magical energy Arondight Overload created didn't stop at Artoria's arm. The entire right side of the king's body was burned and mangled, her right eyelid completely disappearing while her right eye was reduced to a sightless orb. The eruption of light blew Artoria away, her limp body skipping across the ground as the dust settled in the open area the two knights had carved out of Dolorous Guards' insides.
The pain Artoria felt was surprisingly minimal, probably due to her body being in too much shock to process it. She wasn't lethally wounded, but she was drained of her stamina. The glimmer of Excalibur dimmed as Artoria held it in her remaining hand. With that, there were no more light sources left in the area to keep it from being blanketed in pitch blackness.
"You knew this was how it would end as soon as you stepped into my domain." Guinevere-Lancelot's voice came from the darkness. "You claim you didn't plan on dying for us, but this looks like nothing other than suicide to me. Why did you choose to face me?"
"Part of it was that I felt obligated to. You are a Servant that only exists due to my failures." Artoria's voice was weak in a way that was unlike her.
"So even now you're a slave to your duties."
"But that wasn't the main reason."
"Really? Then what was your primary motivation?"
"I just wanted to."
"What?"
"I wanted to confront my past so I could move on. I did this for me, first and foremost."
"You can't fool me. If you had the choice, you'd run away so you never had to confront your failings."
"Believe what you want." Artoria stopped caring about being tactful. The dark knight growled.
"It doesn't matter. All that matters is that you die." The sound of metal boots trampling across the ground echoed throughout the chamber.
Those footsteps stopped when Artoria started to move. Her arm shifted and was used to prop up the king's upper body. She got on her knees and stabbed Excalibur into the ground. Artoria pushed herself onto her feet before yanking her sword out of the dirt.
"Your stubbornness knows no bounds."
"I'm just selfishly choosing to live." Excalibur lit up again, the light scaring away the nearby darkness. "I still have to go see my wife."
"You could at least die with dignity rather than struggling like an injured animal." Blue light appeared in the distance, the magical energy surrounding Arondight shining on Guinevere's face. The metal footsteps returned as the dark knight drew closer.
Artoria grunted and groaned as she struggled to hold up Excalibur with her one tired arm. Her body hunched forward.
"If only your family were here to see the sorry state your in, King Arth-"
"Just shut your mouth." Artoria straightened her back and spun Excalibur so she was holding it in a reverse grip. The light of the Holy Sword intensified.
"What are you doing?"
"Evolving." Artoria pulled her arm back, almost falling backward from her sword's weight.
"Are you-"
The former king whipped her body forward and pitched her sword like it was a javelin. Excalibur moved in a straight line towards Guinevere-Lancelot, the weapon's light making it look like a divine arrow that left particles of light in its wake. The dark knight was dumbfounded upon seeing such a maneuver. It was completely unlike King Arthur, the refined monarch who would never resort to such an unseemly improvised strategy. That was because the dark knight only knew King Arthur, but he was not fighting King Arthur. That old ruler was long dead. The woman standing before the vengeful warrior was Artoria Pendragon, the wife of Irisviel von Einzbern and mother of Illyasviel von Einzbern, Gray Pendragon, and Mordred Pendragon. Artoria had cast aside her pride and was willing to do whatever it took to destroy the Holy Grail and save her family.
"Nothing but desperation!" After being stunned from the surprise, the dark knight pulled back their sword in preparation to knock Excalibur away as soon as it got close. It would be easy given the current speed of the projectile.
But Artoria wasn't done. There was something Guinevere-Lancelot had forgotten.
"Strike Air!" The wind that had been swirling around Artoria this whole time focused in her palm as a condensed sphere. Thrusting her arm forward, the compressed air burst forth as a vortex that struck the hilt of Excalibur, propelling the sword forward and causing it to rotate so fast it resembled a golden drill.
The dark knight didn't even have time to widen their eyes before the accelerated holy sword ripped through their sternum and left a hole in their chest. Guinevere-Lancelot dropped backwards and hit the dirt, Excalibur stabbing into a distant wall.
Artoria stood hunched in place, struggling to breathe. She couldn't fight anymore. If it turned out that the dark knight wasn't defeated, then Artoria was helpless. Guinevere-Lancelot wasn't moving as they had their back to their ground, limbs stretched out. The former king waited for some sign that the dark knight was unable to continue or was about to get back up. It was difficult given the area had returned to darkness so all Artoria could see was the dark knight's shape. The fingers of one of Guinevere-Lancelot's hands twitched. They began to curve towards the shape of a fist, but they couldn't fully tighten. The limp hand shifted to trying to push against the ground, the dark knight's shoulders trying to raise upward to no avail. There was no strength to be found in the Alter Servant's body after having his Spirit Core run through by Excalibur.
"We curse your name, King Arthur." The fallen warrior's spiteful words made it clear that he was no tangible threat anymore and so Artoria fell to her hand and knees, drinking in as much air as she could, to the point that she began having a coughing fit. "You really aren't the dignified king we once knew."
"I already told you that." Artoria said before coughing again. "I am Artoria. I'm not the same person you want revenge on, she's gone. You have to stop living in the past."
"But it is the past which defines us."
"Yes, but we still have the present and future to live. More events are always being added to our pasts, expanding who we are. You're not letting your past define you, you're letting a single incident define you." Artoria's breathing steadied. "I'm sorry for all the pain I caused Lancelot and Guinevere and Mordred and everyone else in Camelot. When I was first summoned, my goal was to wish upon the Grail for me to have never been king so my mistakes would never have been made. I was forced to abandon that dream because of the Grail's corruption and that left me time to think about whether changing the past would be right. I came to the conclusion that no one had the right to alter history. Doing so would lead to a chain effect that would completely rewrite the future and thus erase all the people that lived in that future. It would be genocide. That's what you're doing. You're assisting an attempted genocide for the sake of getting vengeance upon me. It isn't your fault, for you have been poisoned by the Grail, but you're still wrong."
"I'm sorry, but I can't agree with you, it's not possible for me to. I am a Servant that exists to oppose you. I am Lancelot's spite made dominant and alive." The dark knight's body was starting to dissolve into magical energy. The golden specks the warrior was becoming lit up their face, revealing a melancholic smile.
"I thought you were the hatred of both Guinevere and Lancelot?"
"Not truly, for Guinevere could never actually hate you. She was too kind. It was she herself she blamed to the end. That's why I am enraged on her behalf. If she cannot express hate, then I as her knight will do so for her." The head of Guinevere turned to a dark mist and dispersed, revealing Lancelot underneath. "Do not hold a grudge against Guinevere."
"I never did, nor do I hold one against you."
"And that is what I can't stand. Why can't you just hate me? I want to be punished, it was that need for retribution against me that drove me to madness. Why do you restrain yourself, because you must stay impartial as king?" Lancelot raised his head as best he could so he could look at Artoria as his body had almost completely disappeared into particles of magical energy.
"No. I just don't hate you. I understand why you did what you did. In the end, I just don't want to hate you, so I don't." It was as simple as that.
"I see." Lancelot's head fell back and he laughed. "How selfish of you."
Lancelot Alter's body returned to the magical energy from which it was made, as did Dolorous Guard. As the castle turned into an ocean of mana around Artoria, the former king felt bittersweet. It was sad to have to kill someone she was so close to in her past life, but she was happy that she and her allies were one step closer to destroying the Grail and saving Iri. Artoria had put her past to rest, so now it was time to deal with her present.
The castle was gone and Artoria was left in the depths of the mountain's cave system which reeked of curses. She wasn't alone as standing before her was a man in golden armor who held two things. In one hand was Excalibur which the golden man had stolen as the castle vanished. In the other hand was a goblet full of mud.
"Hello, Saber."