"Are you okay, Master?"
With a bit of a grin on his face while being held up thanks to Olga and having a death grip on Camael to ensure it doesn't disappear, Shido responded to Cu. "Yeah. And I'll be even better if you can help put an end to this battle."
Cu had a grin of his own form on his face, and let out a small chuckle as he swung the lance in hand. It was a lance that while everyone else could identify, Shido had no idea what it was or where it came from.
"–Go! Come on, you mutt! Fight for us!" Out of nowhere, it seemed that Angra had appeared next to Shido and Olga, holding his severed left arm up to where it was separated from his body.
Angra's body itself was badly damaged, wounds that were bleeding and clear bruises on his body. Though, it seemed that his body was slowly repairing itself.
The method of which was Angra utilizing the mana from his [Self-Replenishment (Mana)] skill alongside any available mana to heal himself, yet that was something Shido was unaware of.
Saber, a bit aways from them, wasted no time as her blade had the jet black glow that seemed as if it could swallow up even the brightest light emanate from it.
Cu quickly backed away, crouching onto all fours before he launched himself forward.
"Better get away, little Miss!" Cu jumped high into the air, as if to break through the very mountain they were in the underground of as mana swelled around him, arm bulging and a clear presence of death that made him feel fear from every part of his body.
Still, Saber wasn't one who would cower in the face of such an attack. She was someone who would secure victory doing whatever is necessary, without any hesitation.
So, she jumped towards Cu with her blade raised. Her body moved forward so fast, it was like a streak of lightning, her speed being enhanced by her [Mana Burst] skill.
However, Mash, who had used her Noble Phantasm earlier, canceled her use of it and jumped to intercept Saber.
"Aaaaaahhhhhh!" Yelling, possibly using it as a way to motivate herself, Mash had jumped in between both Cu and Saber. Her shield was raised to Saber, yet that proved to be the wrong move. As Saber planted her foot on the shield, and kicked off towards Cu using it as a foothold.
Mash plummeted to the ground as Saber quickly made it towards Cu, and before he could throw the spear, she swung her blade towards him.
"–Tch!" With a click of his tongue, Cu had his body flung downwards to the ground, most likely through the use of some runes that Shido could never truly understand.
The force Saber exerted onto Mash made her get blown away and crash into the ground, coughing blood as she did so.
With a grunt, she got back up and looked to see the fight. As she did, she saw Cu fall towards the ground and his arm tense.
"Pierce the heart–!" Before Cu could say anything else, Saber was already upon him, swinging her sword.
The action seemed impossible when she was flying through the air a moment ago, but she was capable of doing it. As no matter if it was through her instincts or simply her unyielding tenacity, Saber released a huge torrent of wind from her blade in such a way that would propel her body towards Cu.
Is there..
Easily, she made the distance towards him and swung her blade before he could finish the release of his Noble Phantasm.
Anything I can do..
Cu clicked his tongue, twirling Gae Bolg so it doesn't get hit by the blade and barely avoiding a slash from Saber's Excalibur. Immediately, she swung her blade again in order to take his life, aiming to slash his throat.
I can't stay useless!
With that thought, Mash had grabbed hold of something. It wasn't any solid object, nor could it be said to be something as powerful as Saber's Noble Phantasm. It was something left by the Heroic Spirit that she had not been aware of, it was a skill they possessed.
The name of the skill appeared in her mind just as she used it to increase Cu's defensive abilities. [Transient Wall of Snowflakes], a skill that despite only just realizing she could use, Mash could tell it increases the defensive abilities of an ally of hers.
"–Don't think it'll be so easy!" Cu raised his arm, and grabbed Saber's blade itself, stopping it in its tracks and only suffering some minor damage due to the increase of defense.
Even someone as new to being a servant as Mash could tell that was a bad idea. After all, she had seen how easily Saber could envelop her sword in that jet black color, so grabbing the blade itself seemed like a suicidal move.
With her body still enhanced from Shido's earlier Command Seals, Mash jumped towards Saber and swung her shield with all her might.
Saber, without hesitation, swung her blade while Cu still kept a grip on it. Cu's body would've ended up hitting the shield, if not for Cu having noticed that and jump a short bit away from Saber so as to avoid that situation.
However, that didn't stop Saber from releasing a powerful blow against Mash's shield. Her sense of vision had suddenly become chaotic, her body felt like it was flying and before she knew it, pain burst from her back.
"Mash!" She raised her head at hearing her Master call for her, and she saw that Cu was barely avoiding blows from Saber, failing to get an opportunity to release his Noble Phantasm with his famed spear.
I need..
Mash forced herself off the ground, even as her body screamed out in pain from the action.
To do more..
She watched as Cu grit his teeth and used his staff as a Caster to block one of Saber's particularly difficult to dodge attacks, using the force from that to move his body just out of reach from her arm trying to grab him.
I need to win..
Strangely, that sort of thought formed in her mind despite her never expressing such a thing before. Maybe it was due to the changes from her becoming an actual demi-servant, maybe it was due to the danger Saber presented to her Master, or from the adrenaline coursing through her. Whatever it was, she didn't have a clue.
However, that thought filled with determination caused her to slam her shield into the ground.
"Caster! Ignore her attack!"
Cu seemed a bit surprised by her words, but gave a wordless nod as the very air seemed to freeze. The air itself froze from the pressure of Gae Bolg, and Mash felt an instinctive sense of death from the spear.
Saber didn't waste the opportunity, jumped towards him and slashed her blade across Cu's neck as if to decapitate him. –Yet that didn't happen.
Instead, her blade that should've drawn his blood and cut flesh didn't hit anything. That was due to another skill Mash gained, called [Obscurant Wall of Chalk]. Only once she activated it did she learn that it was a skill that transferred the axis of time of whoever she used it on. Allowing for an attack to pass through them.
Though that skill took a lot more out of her compared to the one she used earlier.
"Gae Bolg!" With his close distance towards Saber, Cu's spear moved forward as his Noble Phantasm was finally released.
Saber tried to jump as far away as possible. Though, that was useless in the face of this attack. After all, the spear already pierced her before he even thrust it.
So, following that reversal of causality, Cu's spear moved in a way that seemed unnatural yet wholly natural for it as it stabbed itself through her chest plate and into her heart.
That should've been the end. That is what it should've been. There was no way for her to continue fighting after her heart got destroyed.
–If so, how did she still swing her blade?
Saber, with blood escaping from the wound on her chest, life draining from her body, still swung her mighty blade from myth as if there weren't any issues.
The swing of the blade was evaded by Cu as he swung his staff towards her and her body flew back. However, with another use of her infinite mana tank called the Holy Grail, she used her [Mana Burst] skill in combination with a beam from her blade in order to stop her momentum.
"Aaaaaahhhhhh!" Using her yell as a method of giving herself courage to face Saber, Mash jumped towards her and swung her shield.
Saber dodged the upwards attack, yet she had failed to account for something. The spear still pierced into her body. So, the shield had hit the spear and made it shift in directions, twisting Sabers shoulder and her left arm.
"Ha..ha..ha.." Mash took some deep breaths in and out as she had felt some of her adrenaline leave her at the successful hit.
"–Yeah!" With an excited shout, Angra jumped towards Saber and with a grin, grabbed the slowly disintegrating spear that pierced her heart.
"–Angra!" Master called out to Angra, as Saber swung her arm towards him with enough strength that it sounded as if it was cutting the air itself.
With movements similar to that of a beasts instead of a humans, Angra jumped into the air still holding onto the spear, further twisting it and avoiding Saber's blow.
As if in response, Saber grabbed the spear herself, before brutally ripping it out of her body.
"Wow! You're really ruthless you know. But, that is something I do like about you. Something I'm sure that bastard would fight me on if he was here." Angra gave a laugh after he launched himself away from her.
"Exca–" Before Saber could even continue her words, Cu appeared from behind her and used his staff in the same way as his spear, piercing through her chest.
"There. You won't be able to fight anymore, no matter how much the grail is helping you." With those words, Cu coldly ripped his staff from out of her body.
"Is it finally.." over?
Just before Shido could fully voice his thoughts, the jet black of Saber's blade cut through the smoke.
Her body was riddled with wounds, her armor pierced and two large holes were in her chest. It obviously affected her, from how she was profusely bleeding and body limping.
–However, she still stood, even with the damage done to her, she stood tall and her sword was raised high, the prana practically seemed to be radiating off of her.
"–LIBUR MORGAN!" Yelling out the name of her Noble Phantasm, the blade released a jet black beam that threatened to overpower them all.
Quickly, Mash moved. She stood infront of Shido and Olga, planted her shield in the face of that deadly attack that would tear them apart.
"LORD CHALDEA!" With that yell, Mash used her Noble Phantasm from the unknown Heroic Spirit, erecting a phantasmal wall to serve as their protection.
Normally, such a defense would be nothing to Saber's full might. It would undoubtedly get destroyed by her and decimate them all.
Though, the current Saber isn't at her full might. She suffered two different life threatening blows, one of which had directly pierced her heart. No matter how much nigh infinite mana the Holy Grail provided to her, Saber couldn't return to her perfect state so easily.
So, the Noble Phantasm of Mash's was capable of blocking Saber's own Noble Phantasm, holding it off even if barely.
"–Don't forget about me!" Before Shido even noticed, Angra came up behind Saber and stabbed through her arm using one of his daggers, then he twisted the blade.
The beam from Excalibur had redirected and started to hit the cave walls, giving some relief to Mash as she unemployed her Noble Phantasm and took some deep breaths.
Saber herself unemployed her own Noble Phantasm, yet the danger she presented didn't disappear.
"Angra! Run away!"
As if ignoring Shido's worried words, Angra closed in towards Saber. As if expecting that, Saber, with technique and ability beyond Angra, avoided the attack of his dagger and swung her blade towards his neck.
Using his superior agility, that while was decreased from his injuries, had got leveled out by Sabers even worse injuries, Angra avoided the fatal blow. With that same speed, he swung his dagger in a way devoid of any technique or ability that Saber held and seemed more like the movement of a beast.
Successful, the blade had stabbed into her side, exposed due to the pierced armor. Like a beast, Angra tore the dagger out of her immediately after and evaded a slash of her blade.
As he evaded the attack, Saber punched him with a force that made a crunching sound. Though, as if the pain wasn't any issue for him, Angra bit into her shoulder and simply using his teeth, tore the skin off it.
"You..Are you.." Saber, even as they continued their battle, each attack of Saber's being avoided and all of Angra's attacks hit, spoke towards him.
It looked as if she just recalled something, or prehaps someone just as she was slowly withering away in a battle to the death.
Saber, with that same look in her eyes, fell to the ground as she lost strength to keep standing from the repeated damage Angra inflicted on her. Angra looked down at her, and with the same expression as he had when telling her that Britain would always end up falling, leaned down towards her. His remaining hand held one of his daggers, raised just above her throat.
"Listen. I'm not him. I may look like him and have gotten influenced by the bastard, but we aren't the same. I know he probably died if you have already gone this far. Though.." Angra gave a smile, a genuinely sweet one that strangely fit together with his face. "If it makes you feel any better, in another timeline, that bastard saves you and reunites with you in that garden of yours."
"Shirou..'Saves me'?" Saber, her pale face unchanging, seemed to express a bit of confusion at the thought before her eyes widened in understanding.
"Yeah. He does. Though, unlike him, I'm not able to save you like that. All I can do is bring you some mercy at the end." Angra's daggers got closer, yet didn't go to her throat as fast as he moved in battle. As if he was offering her one last chance to say some parting words.
"..I don't believe I'm wrong. But.." Saber looked at Angra's face, and it seemed like an expression almost broke through her cold and indifferent face. "Even if you aren't truly him, I'm glad you're the one who kills me."
Upon hearing that, Angra made a face that looked dissatisfied with her words. Without any hesitation or additional mercy, Angra moved his arm faster than the speed of what Shido could comprehend, and Saber's head became decapitated from her body. Or, was it his own twisted mercy for him to kill her than let her slowly disappear? Shido could understand it, but he couldn't think of that act as merciful and he clenched his fist from that.
Her body quickly dissipated, most likely returning to the Throne of Heroes that Shido faintly recalled. Not that he really understood it that much anyways.
"..It annoys me that those were your final words, you self righteous king. I mean, you could've complained at least once at the end, couldn't you.." Angra spoke those words in a whisper quiet enough to where only Shido could hear it.
Why..? Why couldn't she be saved.. Why couldn't she be happy too.. Damn it..
Even though it was a victory to be celebrated, Shido felt a bitter yet familiar emotion well up in him, one that made him recall the face of a woman who had done everything in order to bring back the one she loved.
A clap echoed throughout the cavern, making everyone turn to see a face that Shido could only widen his eyes upon seeing.
Shido could barely believe his eyes, as the man stood infront of the corrupted Holy Grail. He smiled like nothing had happened as he continued his slow clapping.
"That was truly commendable of you all, to be able to defeat someone such as King Arthur. Though, I guess it makes some sense from how utterly useless she had become." The one Shido believed to have died in the explosion within Chaldea, Lev Lainur, had now appeared after the defeat of Saber.