Chapter 77

The tower drilled into the unfocused mass of mana that was fired at Lancer, the mana and winds spinning through the energy to go straight towards Avenger at the epicenter. The night sky lit up brightly as the mana blasted haphazardly in every direction, destroying the decades old trees that had watched over the land. From a distance, it looked like a massive glowing cloud with a red outline rapidly expanding, consuming the earth and firing out thunderbolts all the while. If one looked from the viewpoint of Avenger, all they would see was white, a blinding white that would sear the retinas of any normal human being.

In the midst of the massive explosion of energy that was continuously released by Avenger, Lancer continued to advance, her horse pushing forward with every ounce of his strength as the hooves beat against the air, each stride pushing Lancer forward, the tip of Rhongomyniad closer to Avenger. The lightning of the King of Storms crackled around her, warding off any thunderbolts from Avenger that sought to strike her. The wind that shouldn't have any color was tinted dull purple with hints of red, pushing her forwards as it blasted behind her in a vortex, propelling them downwards like a jet engine.

Avenger howled as the flux of energy continuously released from Clarent, instinctively increasing the energy released from it, but she was starting to run dry. With the connection to the Grail cut, and outputting such a massive amount of energy on par with a Noble Phantasm, no matter how large her reservoir of mana was, she couldn't sustain it for long. Gradually, the cloud of energy shrank in size, the red particles streaming off the blade reducing in number. Sensing her enemy weakening, Lancer charged forward and seized her opportunity.

The tower blasted through the red, Lancer's spurs digging into Llamrei's flanks, the wind cyclone around the lance boring through the stream of energy straight towards Avenger. In response, Avenger suddenly cut the blast of mana and redirected all the energy flowing to her sword into her legs, creating a massive mana burst to send her flying away from Lancer and the area she would strike at. Lancer wasn't one to yell, even in battle, unless it was absolutely necessary, but they just needed one last push to catch up to Avenger before she escaped. It was a crucial seconds difference, a second before she blasted out of range, or second early where she could fully strike down Avenger.

"CHARGE!"

Sensing his Master's urgency, Llamrei's speed redoubled, Charisma affecting even her steed to the extent that increased its performance to the point that it was literally tearing apart it's muscles. Every single muscle in it's legs bulged up, rapidly expanding and contracting, from the brachial muscle to the extensors. Lancer gripped the reins tightly and steadied her arm, her body going up and down with Llamrei's body in perfect harmony, her Riding skill drawing out their speed to the maximum by syncing with Llamrei's body to achieve the goal of having the steed and rider become one.

Avenger bent her knees while throwing her sword in at Lancer in a desperate attempt to distract her, the sword coated in lightning and mana to allow it to pierce the cowl of raging winds around the lance that protected Lancer from the front.

*Shing!*

The spinning sword cut through the air, Avenger's incredible strength unable to keep the sword on its course as it slammed into the mass of wind, mana and corrosive energy bearing down on her, the sword immediately deflected and sent flying far away from them, though it managed to stay intact even from the force of impact with the Noble Phantasm.

But even while the sword was slicing through the air towards Lancer, Avenger was already prepared to leap away with her Mana Burst fully charged. Bent legs stretched, fully extending as the Mana Burst further reinforced the explosive power of her muscles, energy pouring from her legs into the ground as she pushed against it. The laws of force created an opposing reaction, Avenger's entire body leaving the ground as it broke free from gravity.

*DZOOM*

With Avenger frozen in the air barely 2 meters away from her original position, Lancer smashed into the ground and dug out a massive crater in an instant, the vortex of wind and mana carving through the dirt and stone in seconds. The entire area the size of a football stadium was swamped in the corrosive energy wrapped around the lance. Avenger's body was swallowed in the purple blast that expanded from the point of impact, a globe of energy with colored winds lashing out at the edges, covering a large swath of the forest. Far off in the distance, the manor shook from the blow, the lights winking in and out. Close by, Berserker and Ruler were thrown off their feet from the shockwave reaching them.

When the explosion subsided, all that was left was Avenger's body slowly sliding into a shallow pit of purple liquid that corroded the edges of the pit, eating away at Avenger's flesh as she sank into it. Standing on the edge of the pit, her horse gone due to the muscles in his body torn to shreds from overcharging earlier, Lancer stared down at the Extra class Servant.

"Fathe…"

Reaching out a hand towards Lancer, Avenger leaned forward, trying to escape the acidic gunk to reach Lancer. Lancer only stared back at her impassively, her face guarded behind her helm.

Then Rhongomyniad flew up to protect her from the Clarent that suddenly appeared right in front of her.

*CCNG*

The lance barely managed to block the thrown sword, the blade cutting slightly into the right side of Lancer's neck, before it hurtled on its path behind her. Blood dripped down the shallow cut on her neck, staining one side of her shoulder red.

Faster than Lancer could react, Avenger jumped right in front of her. She had managed to dematerialize Clarent, then resummon it into her left hand while her other hand reached out towards Lancer in a show of weakness. The liquid covering her left hand hid the resummoned sword, allowing her to suddenly throw it at Lancer, and then she used both hands to push off the ground, flinging her body at Lancer despite her having lost both legs.

"DDDIEEEEEE!"

Her legs ended in bloody stumps, blasted away by Rhongomyniad. Purple slime dripped off of her entire body, sizzling away at her flesh where they still clung. Her body was littered with numerous cuts and wounds, the wind slicing into her flesh sharper than any knife. Even her hands were half gone, the bone exposed as her flesh was melted from the corrosive acid from being submerged in the pit in the impact crater just now.

Yet, the fire in her eyes never died.

Lancer inadvertently took a step back, her body reacting automatically to the threat Avenger posed to her. So long as Avenger drew breath, no Artoria would live in peace.

*WUK*

*Schlck*

A veiny, muscular hand chopped on the back of Avenger's neck, precisely targeting the clump of nerves located there. Avenger dropped like a sack from the force of the blow, having lost consciousness from it. Afterwards, a bucket of mud was immediately poured onto her, the noxious liquid flowing onto the Servant and reestablishing the link between her and Angra Mainyu. Avenger sank into the mud, sent back into the cavern housing the Holy Grail.

"The hatred that drives her is indeed strong."

Kirei mused as he stared at the spot where Avenger used to be.

Then he turned to Lancer.

"Let us return. Our work here is done."

They walked off, Kirei carrying the bucket specialized for carrying hazardous materials, left over from his days as an Executor.

"If Avenger achieves her goal, will she be able to attain peace? Or will her rage never fade?"