Chapter 75

Flicking the sword to the side, the blood flew off the surface of Clarent, scattering on the ground as droplets of red rain. Raising her head, Mordred lifted her face to the sky and closed her eyes, savouring the chilly winds on her face. Her pale blond hair lifted with the wind, strands of stray hair tickling her shoulder and ears.

From the side, Berserker looked at Avenger as she stood there in the middle of the clearing next to the hole.

This wasn't the Mordred she knew from the Servant Galaxy, but they looked close enough for her to identify her as Mordred. The wild hair sticking out in spiky points framed both sides of her face, the color not unlike Berserker's own. Tied up in a messy bun with a dark crimson strip of cloth, the back of her head was like an explosion of hair, tufts of hair branching out in every direction. Only a longer and noticeably larger rope of hair hanging down made it look like a ponytail. Surprisingly, her clothing under the armour was close in appearance to the Mordred she knew from her own reality, consisting of a long sleeved crop top with a neckline that almost reached her throat, completely covering both her shoulders and collarbones. A silver ring wrapped around her neck, similar to a choker. Horizontal platinum lines traced along her chest, the two lines linking together into a sideways rhombus with a circle in the middle.

The material hugged her figure tightly, exposing her collarbone, toned shoulders, deltoids and biceps prominently. The swell of her admittedly petite chest was easily visible, with the valley between them swallowing the silver circle on the outfit. The lines seemed to enhance the chest, making it all the more visible as they wrapped around the top and bottom of it. On the back of her hands, two rhombuses overlapping each other could be seen, with another silver line leading up to her elbow running out of them.

Her toned abs over her stomach gently pulsed in and out with each breath, her deep breathing going directly to her diaphragm. The lean muscles were slight, unable to be compared with a bodybuilder's in size, but their size belied the strength they could exert. Incidentally, none of the Artorias could claim to have toned abs, even with the strength they wielded.

Going further down, her dark skirt could be seen. Gray clasps with platinum borders fastened the skirts left and right sides to the centerpiece wrapping around the waist. The top of the centerpiece dipped downwards in a "V" shaped, going from the tops of the hips all the way to right above the navel, the top of the muscle line running from the hip to the navel visible. Unlike the usual Mordred, there was no loincloth hanging in front of her crotch. Instead, an extremely tight black synthetic-looking shorts were on full display, the material tightly stretched across her thighs and crotch to hide her modesty.

Black tights followed below the shorts, a thick gray border at the top pinching into her pale white flesh, a "Y" shaped connecting it to the lower border near her knees. Her legs were slim and taut, the muscles not overly obvious, but athletic enough to be noticed at a first glance. The black tights were opaque, allowing the moonlight to hit her white thighs and calves, reflecting off the alabaster white skin that lay beneath the thin surface of fabric. The tights ended in boots that reached above her ankles, the black leather covered with dark metal plates with rough surfaces. Behind her, the black skirt covered her butt and fell all the way to her knees, the center shaped like a leaf with a cut going down the middle.

*Nying!*

Bluish-white blasts of mana pelted Avenger from all sides, a dozen birds made of glowing white threads floating in the air while shooting at her rapidly. Far back at the castle, Illya clenched her fists, praying for Berserker to stand up as fast she could.

The mana blasts dissipated against her skin harmlessly, like water splashing against stone. Lifting her sword that was hanging loosely by her side, she gathered mana in it. Red lightning crackled around it, the metal glowing a dull shade of red as magical energy was channeled into the weapon. With one swing, the familiars were eradicated.

The few seconds Illya managed to buy let Berserker get to her feet and jump towards Ruler's bleeding body. She kneeled down, flipping Ruler's body around to face the sky.

"Ngh…"

Ruler was still alive, but just barely. She had been pierced straight through the middle of her chest, the blade just barely missing the spinal cord to plunge through the lungs and ribcage, a visible exit wound bleeding profusely from her chest, staining her white bodysuit red. Her spine had also been punched earlier, so her legs weren't very responsive, and her whole body still felt numb after the rush of pain that flooded her body earlier. But with an A+ rank of Endurance and endless mana from the Grail, she was still far from being dead.

"Can you stand?"

Ruler shook her head, then her eyes widened as she saw the blade descending behind Berserker's back.

*Vuon!*

The crimson blade swung as fast as it could, Berserker using her technique of the Instantaneous Shadowless Blade (really just an application of her telekinesis to increase the velocity and control of her blade) to swiftly block it without turning around. But the blow was heavy enough to make her entire body sink, her feet cracking the roots of the tree and pushing down until she sank into the tightly packed dirt beneath the roots.

"Grrghh-"

The sword continued to press downwards, forcing Berserker, even with her unmatched rank of Strength, to kneel on the ground to support the weight. Was she this strong earlier? The thought flitted through Berserker's mind as she struggled to bear the weight of Avengers arms pushing down on her, the Servant in question barely looking like she was trying at all. In contrast, Berserker was already starting to sweat, her entire body shaking like a leaf in the wind as her muscles strained to prevent her own lightsaber from falling down and cutting her. The lightsaber hissed as it vied against the red blade, now crackling with electricity as it was augmented to take on the plasma blade without melting through prodigious usage of mana.

Acting quickly, Ruler withdrew a red card and chucked it at Berserker, her injured state doing little to hinder her aim with the distance they were at.

The card flew past Avengers head as she simply tilted it, allowing it to just miss as it exploded far behind her. Then the mana Berserker had been accumulating all along exploded in the form of red lightning.

*KURAKOOM*

Bolts of lightning danced from the center that was Berserker, the tendrils of energy slamming into trees and the ground, the wood catching fire and the dirt blown up in small craters. Avenger was blown backwards as well, being nearest to the explosion with no chance of dodging. However, it did little to her, her high rank of endurance allowing her to shrug it off easily.

The burst of lightning was concentrated on and released from her back, so Ruler was completely untouched. There was a hole in the bodysuit on Berserker's back now, and the cloak was completely ruined, but that could be easily fixed later. Taking Ruler into her arms, she bounced on one of the thin lines that Illya had just activated, Illya's mana surging through it as she detected Berserker signature resonating through the line, then she jumped.

*BWOOSH*

The instantaneous acceleration was comparable to Rulers bunny jumps, sending Berserker rocketing high into the sky with the boost Illya gave her, as well as her own natural jumping strength.

Below them, Avenger watched the escape, her pale eyes lighting up with the flames of anger as her lips contorted into a snarl.

"FAAATHERR!"

Her roar echoed in the forest, reaching the ears of the horse mounted Servant and the Servant lying on the ground, aiming down a sniper rifle in the distance.

"Lancer, prevent them from escaping."

"Sakura, tell Rider to shoot them down."