Can't win.
In the face of the frenzied "All the World's Evil," Saber could only grit her teeth and struggle to hold on.
It wasn't a matter of martial skill—the deranged "All the World's Evil" was no match for Saber in terms of combat techniques.
It wasn't a matter of willpower either—Saber knew her knight had already departed, and she would not hold back.
It was just... the compatibility was simply too poor.
Clang!
The black mud surged like a tidal wave. Saber manipulated the Wind King's Barrier to strike horizontally, but as the storm scattered, the previously dispersed black mud gathered once more, rushing toward Saber.
A near-screaming intuition forced Saber to retreat rapidly, not daring to let the black mud touch her. Yet, the enemy was relentless. The liquid curse intensified further, almost solidifying into clumps. The overwhelming, nauseating malice was enough to make one dizzy just by looking at it.
Servants, after all, are the purest form of "souls" summoned with the assistance of the Holy Grail. Since the black mud could corrupt the Holy Grail's power, polluting a Servant's spiritual core was an easy task.
"All the World's Evil" could afford to make countless mistakes, but Saber only needed to take one hit to lose—this was an inherently unfair battle.
"Damn it..."
Saber clenched her teeth, a sense of frustration and helplessness welling up in her heart.
He was a knight she had personally appointed, the legacy of the Round Table in this era, yet she couldn't even protect him...
The burning anger with no outlet ultimately led Saber to make a fatal mistake.
"Avalon!"
The utopia of isolation reappeared, standing like a reef amidst the surging black mud. At the same time, Saber gripped her holy sword with both hands, her voice roaring like a dragon.
"Ex—calibur!!"
Within the radiant holy light, Nameless's expression was one of profound intrigue.
***
Drip.
Like raindrops falling on parched land, soaking into the soil.
The platinum light of a soul fell upon a vessel, and thus, a puppet composed of countless materials was granted new life.
Click, click!
Rising, stretching, the puppet opened its eyes amidst the sounds of bones and flesh moving, a flash of platinum light fading in its gaze.
"Unit One... cough, Unit One, activation complete."
After confirming that his voice was normal and his magical circuits were functioning properly, Sakatsuki, who had transferred his soul using the Third Magic, did not immediately rush back to fight Nameless. Instead, he took a step forward and disappeared into the displacement space. When he reappeared, he was standing before Irisviel and the others.
"Sakatsuki..."
Looking at the puppet youth who appeared no different from before, Kiritsugu Emiya took a deep breath and asked straightforwardly.
"What is it?"
After returning from the black Holy Grail, Kiritsugu had not left with his wife and aide, as he wanted to express his belated apologies and gratitude to the young man who had been helping him all along.
But since Sakatsuki had appeared in such an unusual manner, it meant that now was not the time for conversation, and Kiritsugu was not so tactless as to waste Sakatsuki's time.
"Talking to a smart person is easy."
Sakatsuki nodded slightly to Kiritsugu, his tone calm.
"I need you to transfer Saber's contract to me, Kiritsugu."
"Alright."
Without a moment's hesitation, Kiritsugu agreed to the request.
The light of the Command Spells flashed in the room.
"By the way, Kiritsugu, I also need you to help me with a few more things..."
***
"Haah... haah..."
It was the sound of exhausted breathing.
Saber's chest rose and fell slightly, her sweat-drenched hair clinging to her cheeks, giving the red dragon of Britain a somewhat fragile appearance.
Even with the boost from her dragon core, the burden of continuously releasing her Noble Phantasm was too much.
Before Saber, the "All the World's Evil" that had taken root in Sakatsuki's body had lost its form, reverting to its original state of black mud, tightly bound by holy magical energy, unable to recover.
But this did not mean Saber had won.
"Excalibur is as powerful as ever, truly worthy of the King of Knights."
A sincere voice of admiration rang out. Nameless, holding the small Holy Grail in his left hand, stepped onto the black mud, walking toward Saber.
"But you've only temporarily disabled a mad dog. How will you deal with me now? With your Avalon, the utopia of absolute defense?"
"Provocations won't work, Nameless."
Saber's breathing gradually stabilized as she raised her sword.
"Sakatsuki has already demonstrated how to break through Avalon. Surely the rat hiding in the shadows has a countermeasure prepared?"
"What a pity."
Unfazed by the taunt, Nameless remained calm.
"I had hoped to let you descend into corruption peacefully. Since that's not the case, struggle all you want, Saber."
Nameless's hand disappeared, swallowed by a diamond-shaped displacement space.
This technique—bad!
Saber's pupils constricted as she tried to dodge, but her exhausted body could no longer handle such intense movements. Just a slight delay in reaction cost her the last chance to escape.
Above her, the hand holding the Holy Grail tilted, pouring out the eager black mud, engulfing the small, shining figure.
"Ugh—ah!"
Something terrible was coming, something dark and utterly repulsive.
"Ah—ah, ah, ah, ah, ah—!"
Thoughts were swept away, thinning out; only the body still conveyed a strong sense of disgust.
There was no longer any room to care about appearances. The remaining mana had to be used to escape. Even if it meant losing most of her mana or parts of her limbs, she had to desperately break free from the black mud—
Escape, escape, escape...
The black mud fully invaded.
From the inside out, corruption began.
The sensation in her torso was completely gone. It was something no Servant could resist, let alone a true heroic spirit. The purer the soul, the more disoriented it became once tainted.
So this was Nameless's goal—
Her increasingly chaotic consciousness suddenly understood.
Nameless had allowed "All the World's Evil" to be defeated so that Saber would exhaust herself, leaving her too weak to break free from the black mud.
An ominous aura emanated from Saber, eroding her entire body. The black mud spreading to her fingertips, the darkness that could even devour moonlight, had now become a part of her.
"I'm sorry... Sakatsuki."
After uttering her final words, the golden-haired girl sank into the murky swamp.
"Is it over?"
Nameless coldly observed the endless black mud, within which Saber was transforming into something else.
Once she fully transformed into Alter, Saber's actions would be controlled by the Holy Grail, no longer posing a threat to Nameless.
"In such a dire situation, how will you respond, Sakatsuki..."
As he muttered to himself, Nameless retrieved the small Holy Grail. The black mud surrounding Saber began to recede, like curtains falling on a stage, revealing the new Servant form hidden within—
Huh?
Nameless raised an eyebrow, looking at the empty space before him, a faint smile finally curling on his lips.
"Hmph, it seems you haven't disappointed me yet."
"Master (Brother), be careful, something's coming!"
Caster suddenly stepped in front of Nameless, standing ready.
Following his sense of danger, Nameless also looked up, and there, on the roof of Ryudou Temple, a white-haired, golden-eyed youth met his gaze.
In the youth's hands, the sword that cleaved heaven and earth, the Sword of Rupture, spun at high speed, narrating the primordial truth, tearing apart the world.
"The Severance of Heaven and Earth—Enuma Elish!!!"
***
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