"Clarent Blood Arthur—"
In an instant, centered on the radiant sword of the King held by the 'Red' Saber Mordred, the surroundings were bathed entirely in crimson light.
But the change did not stop there. The once silver-white, brilliant sword now radiated a bloody glow—its once majestic form twisting hideously as it was enveloped by red and black aurora. The weapon itself seemed corrupted, pulsing with violent energy as crackling buzz—snap! sounds echoed through the air.
Mordred raised the grotesque, thunder-lit sword high with both hands.
My honor is loyalty! What would a traitor like you know of it?!
The words of the Astartes officer of the Second Legion before her were like a dagger, stabbing straight into Mordred's heart—and twisting.
Indeed, Mordred was never known for calm restraint. She... had lost her composure!
No matter how many reasons she had for rebelling against her father, no matter how many faults King Arthur himself bore—history recorded her as one thing only: a shameful traitor.
Fine. So be it. If she was a traitor, then she would show this so-called loyal fool what his vaunted "faith" and "devotion" truly meant. Your King will not answer you!
(And no—Mordred would never refer to herself as "old lady." The moment someone treated her like a woman, she'd blow a fuse.)
"—Rebellion Against My Beautiful Father!!!"
With her roar, the distorted bloodlight burst outward. Waves of violent magical energy exploded, and the air itself seemed to scream in agony.
This spectacle told every hidden observer that the Saber of Red, Mordred, had unleashed her Noble Phantasm.
"Second Legion! Stand your ground unto death!" The Astartes officer's metallic voice boomed out, calm yet resolute. Around him, violet-red Honkai energy surged across his power armor—he had no intention of retreating.
Whether this was his true nature or the deep influence of his Legion Commander, Great General Budo, was unclear. Silent and unyielding, he simply stood his ground—ready to take Mordred's strongest strike head-on.
"Die!!"
Scarlet lightning erupted. A storm of destructive radiance swallowed the towering Astartes officer in an instant.
BOOM!!
The crimson light of annihilation devoured everything nearby. All objects in its radius disintegrated to ash—including the approaching golems that were caught in the blast.
Crack, crack, crack!!
"Huff..." Exhaling a heavy breath, Mordred kept her grip firm on the sword of the King, narrowing her eyes as she stared into the smoke-filled ruin.
That attack had carried her full wrath. Even if it wasn't Clarent's maximum release, there was no way that armored giant could have survived... and yet, her battle instinct screamed otherwise. The tangible pressure in the air, the prickling warning crawling up her neck—it all told her: the enemy still lived.
Unless—
Her gaze sharpened. "So, you finally can't resist showing yourself... you rat hiding in the dark!"
Her words were answered not by voice, but by action—a golden, elegant hand clad in ornate gauntlets swept aside the dust. In an instant, the devastated battlefield revealed itself before all.
The earth was cracked and ruined, the surrounding buildings shattered to rubble. Jagged fissures, wide as an arm, spread out in all directions like spiderwebs.
And yet—before the resplendent figure now standing there, the devastating energy of Mordred's Noble Phantasm had been stopped effortlessly. Not an inch of it had penetrated. Kneeling respectfully behind that figure was the same armored Astartes officer, alive but humbled.
"Your Majesty, this subordinate was incompetent... I failed to take the enemy's head." The officer's voice carried both shame and respect as he knelt on one knee behind Selene.
"It is of no consequence," Selene replied softly. "You have only just been promoted to squad captain. Your strength is still growing. Failure is not shameful—what matters is to learn from it. Withdraw for now."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The Astartes officer bowed deeply. Without protest or plea for another chance, his towering form dissolved into spirit particles and vanished.
Ordinary Astartes warriors lacked energy-projection abilities. Even mid-level officers—while capable of basic Honkai Energy manipulation—were still outmatched against Heroic Spirits, whose Noble Phantasms and mana output reached cataclysmic levels.
As Selene considered future improvements for her Astartes Legions, her crimson eyes turned toward the blonde knight before her—a short-tempered, wide-eyed lion cub, trembling as cold sweat ran down her face upon realizing whom she faced.
Selene's gaze was calm yet suffocating.
The God-Empress had descended upon the field.
"Well then, warm-up's over, rebellious knight Mordred..."
"What the—why do you look so much like Mother?!"
Facing Selene—dressed in an extravagant ceremonial gown of white, gold, and violet—Mordred's heavy helmet disassembled into her armor. For once, the fearless knight of rebellion actually stepped back in alarm.
From this absurdly elegant figure, Mordred could sense a familiar aura—the same type she'd felt from her supposed ally, the Assassin of Red she'd met earlier in the cathedral. That same, unnerving essence... akin to her mother's.
And as for who Mordred's "Mother" was—there could be no doubt: Morgan le Fay, sister to King Arthur, daughter of the late King Uther, true inheritor of the island's mystical power, and a sorceress on par with Merlin himself.
Morgan le Fay had once turned the entirety of Britain into her domain—an act that, in some ways, surpassed even Arthur's reign.
What in the hell is going on here?! Mordred's thoughts spun. Why does every Servant in this Holy Grail War feel like they've crawled out of some sinister conspiracy?!
Truth be told, she absolutely hated dealing with types like her mother. The resemblance—the aura—was too strong. It made her chest tighten with irritation and unease.
The same kind of scheming, manipulative, calculating monster... No, wait, not quite the same.
This woman before her carried the same dominating presence, yes, but it was different. If Morgan's aura reeked of palace intrigue, then the Assassin of Red's was that of a honeyed poisoner—one who lulled others into slumber before death.
But this one—this impossibly radiant figure before her—had none of that. There was no poison, no subtle plotting. Instead, her aura was pure arrogance, coldness, cruelty, ferocity... How many people had this woman killed?!
Every breath, every glance, every idle thought of hers could end hundreds—thousands—of lives without effort.
There was no mistaking it. She bore the same regal authority as her father, yet the way she ruled—the nature of that power—was utterly, terrifyingly opposite.
Arthur had never possessed such overwhelming, imperious might. Mordred could tell instinctively.
"Huh?" Selene blinked, utterly puzzled by Mordred's outburst. Looks like her mother? What in the world was that supposed to mean?
When did I ever have a daughter? (And no, Arisa doesn't count!) Did she just... call me her parent?!
"Now's my chance!"
Spotting Selene's momentary daze, Mordred's battle instincts kicked in. Scarlet lightning burst from her legs as she lunged forward, swinging Clarent down in a ferocious arc toward Selene's slender neck.
Her earlier retreat wasn't fear—it had been the reflexive recoil of bad memories. A warrior's intuition now sharpened her focus, and she seized the opportunity her own words had created.
Her movements were feral, more like a lion's pounce than a knight's strike—grace and form cast aside for sheer killing intent. Her attack was raw, primal, devastating.
"Never lose focus on the battlefield!" she shouted.
BOOM!
"What?!" Mordred's eyes went wide in disbelief as her sword stopped mid-swing—caught effortlessly by Selene's single hand.
The woman ignored the crackling lightning crawling across the blade. Her fingers, glowing faintly with violet-red light, gripped the weapon as if it were a child's toy.
"How... how is that possible?!" Mordred gasped. Her strength was B+, boosted to A rank through her Mana Burst, and yet this elegant woman—clearly more like a Caster than a warrior—had simply caught her attack with one hand.
Selene tilted her head slightly, smiling faintly. "Impressive strength... But this is not the sword's true form, is it? Once a pure and noble blade, now twisted by hatred and rebellion—an ominous demon blade in the hands of a fallen knight."
At her fingertips, violet-red Honkai particles flared, clamping around Clarent like an iron vice. "Now... it's my turn."
Using her greater height and reach, Selene lifted the 1.5-meter-tall Mordred effortlessly, pulling her close before pressing a glowing palm to the girl's armored chest.
Then—she pushed.
BOOM! The air detonated with a thunderous shockwave.
Mordred's body was sent flying like a stone skipping across water, crashing and bouncing along the ground. Each impact gouged a crater into the pavement until finally—
CRASH!!—her armored form slammed into a building across the street, embedding deep into its wall.
The structure didn't even have time to collapse gracefully—it burst apart like a punctured balloon, scattering debris and shrapnel in every direction.
-"What a suitable punching bag... It's been a while since I've stretched my limbs. Royal Guard—eliminate the enemy's watchers."
As Selene spoke, her regal robes shimmered in violet light before dissolving into a striking silver-and-azure battle attire.
The voluminous gown unraveled into a fitted deep-blue minidress reinforced with silver-white armored accents along the waist. Her shapely thighs were left exposed, framed by sleek segments of articulated plating that traced the curve of her hips. Completing the transformation were silver armored thigh-high boots, their high-heeled construction lifting her stature even further, the polished surfaces etched with glowing Honkai filaments.
It was none other than the Valkyrie battlesuit Bright Knight · Excelsis, its fabric and plating forged entirely from soulium woven with Honkai Energy.
Though Selene herself never recognized it as a Teigu, the people of her Empire exaggerated its legend so wildly that within the Type-Moon world, it had been sublimated into an A-rank defensive Noble Phantasm. And due to countless misinterpretations, its effects extended far beyond mere defense.
The battlesuit Bright Knight · Excelsis—by virtue of rumor—now amplified her base physical stats one full rank higher: Strength, Endurance, Agility—all enhanced.
Once fully equipped, Selene stepped forward.
BOOM!
The ground shattered beneath her heels as concentrated power erupted from her legs, launching her toward the direction Mordred had been blown away. Even in high heels, her movement was strikingly fluid, the silver boots flashing as she crossed the battlefield in a streak of white light—an almost surreal sight.
Mordred, meanwhile, had already regained her composure. She coughed, mending her fractured armor through raw mana. Blood trickled down her cheek, but her lips curled into a manic grin.
"Hard bones, huh? Fine by me!" she growled.
Then—BOOM!—like a cannonball, she shot forward once more, colliding head-on with Selene.
BANG!!
The impact was deafening, the air itself screaming from the high-frequency shockwave that rippled through the entire district.
Moments later, a crimson figure was sent flying backward—Mordred again.
"Damn it... her strength's way above mine..." she spat, slamming a gauntleted hand into the ground to halt her momentum. The metal claws dug deep into the pavement, stopping her slide.
Using that leverage, she twisted her body, rotating with the momentum. With a roar, she hurled Clarent—the sword that defined her very existence—like a thunderbolt toward the airborne Selene.
The thrown blade tore through the air, enveloped in crimson lightning, its sonic boom shattering the sound barrier as it streaked toward its target.
Behind it, Mordred followed—her entire body flaring with scarlet lightning once more as she charged.
Selene, of course, had predicted all of this.
Seeing the sword streak toward her, the Empress actually smiled. So this is what it feels like to fight with your fists instead of spells.
Since that battle with the Saint, Kanzaki Kaori, in Academy City, Selene hadn't felt this exhilarated. Perhaps it was because her power had grown too quickly—or because she'd been too cautious to challenge anyone above her weight class since then.
Now, even though this was only a Heroic Spirit vessel—its destructive potential greatly diminished from her true self—the sensation of her full strength bursting with every blow thrilled her to the core.
(Note: Excluding all multipliers, Selene's base physical parameter as a Heroic Spirit: Strength — B+.)
Without evasion, Selene met the thrown Clarent head-on. One punch.
BOOOOM!! The resulting collision of energy shattered the surrounding environment. The sound was like a blacksmith's hammer striking an anvil—deep, resonant, and violently loud.
Even though the clash took place midair, the ground beneath them cracked open like a spiderweb. The sheer shockwave sank the earth several meters, forming a crater more than ten meters wide.
Knocking the sword aside, Selene didn't retreat—instead, she advanced. With speed beyond comprehension, she closed the distance and, exploiting her superior height, delivered a devastating roundhouse kick that slammed into Mordred's crossed guard.
CRACK!
The force was overwhelming. Mordred's own armored arms snapped back against her face, the blow leaving her cheek crushed inward and spraying blood into the air. The crimson lightning surrounding her body shattered and dispersed instantly.
A streak of light cut through the battlefield as Mordred's body vanished, blasted away once more.
BOOM! The ruined building ahead exploded as her body tore through it, vanishing beneath a cascade of rubble and dust. Fragments of stone and wood rained down in a chaotic storm.
...
Meanwhile, within the grand central hall of the Fortress of Millennia—
For the modern magi observing this divine spectacle, every breath froze. Their eyes widened in awe as they watched the myth come alive before them.
"To witness Her Divine Majesty take the field personally... what an honor... what a privilege..."